Trade Adjustment Assistance Application Process

How to Apply for TAA

Application Process Overview - Applications for the Trade Act Program as amended by the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009 have two distinct phases:

1. To obtain TAA reemployment services and benefits a group of workers must first file a petition with the U.S Department of Labor's Trade Adjustment Assistance Program (TAA) requesting certification as workers adversely affected by foreign trade If the worker group meets the necessary group eligibility criteria a certification will be issued.
   
   
2. After a group certification is issued each worker in the group may then individually apply for services and benefits through their local One-Stop Career Center to determine individual TAA eligibility for services and benefits.

Who may file a petition - A petition may be filed by a group of three or more workers, by a company or public agency official by One-Stop operators or partners (including state employment security agencies and dislocated worker units) or by a union or other duly authorized representative of such workers The workers on whose behalf a petition is filed must be or have been employed at the firm or subdivision identified in the petition.

Assistance in preparing a petition - Petitioners may request assistance in preparing the petition by contacting the OTAA in Washington DC, at their local One-Stop Career Center or by contacting their State Dislocated Worker Unit Employment Security Agency. To locate such assistance workers may call 1-877-US2-JOBS, 1-877-889-5627(TTY), or visit the America's Service Locator Web site at: http://www.servicelocator.org. The OTAA may be contacted at 1-888-DOL-OTAA (1-888-365-6822).

Submitting a Petition - Once completed petitions must be signed Petitions filed by a group of adversely affected workers must be signed by at least three workers; petitions filed by any other authorized representatives require only one signature Once signed petitions must be filed with the OTAA and also with the State TAA Coordinator or Dislocated Worker Unit with responsibility for the area in which the worker group works.

Who is covered by the petition - A completed petition describes a group of workers working at a specific location for a specific company or public agency producing a specific product or group of products or services. If the group of workers described in the petition is certified, the certification will cover all workers in the group whether or not their names are on the petition.

Group TAA Eligibility Requirements

After receiving a TAA petition, OTAA investigators gather and analyze the facts to determine if the eligibility requirements are met. These requirements are summarized as follows:

1. The workers' company produces a product or supplies a service or the workers' employer is a public agency that supplies a service; AND
2. A required minimum of the workforce has been laid off in the 12 months preceding the date of the petition or is threatened with layoffs (3 workers in groups of fewer than 50 or 5% of the workforce in groups of 50 or more); AND
3. At least one of the following:
   1. Increased imports of articles or services contributed importantly to an actual decline in sales or production of like or directly competitive articles or services at the workers' firm and to the workers' layoff or threat of a layoff; OR
   2. Increased imports of articles like or directly competitive with articles produced directly using services provided by the workers' firm contributed importantly to an actual decline in sales or production at the workers' firm and to the workers' layoff or threat of a layoff; OR
   3. Increased imports of articles have contributed importantly to an actual decline in sales or production at the workers' firm and to the layoff or threat of a layoff at the workers' firm of workers who produce component parts for like or directly competitive articles; OR
   4. A shift in the production of articles or supply of services to a country outside the United States contributed importantly to the workers' layoff or threat of a layoff; OR
   5. The workers' firm's loss of business as a supplier or downstream producer to a TAA-certified firm contributed importantly to an actual decline in sales or production at the workers' firm and to the workers' layoff or threat of a layoff; OR
   6. The acquisition of services from a foreign country by a public agency has contributed importantly to a layoff or threat of a layoff of workers of the public agency.

Worker groups also may be certified if the workers are employed by a company identified in an affirmative finding of injury by the International Trade Commission (ITC). Where the ITC has made such a finding the three criteria above are not required for certification.

Decisions on TAA Petitions

The OTAA will seek to make a final determination on whether or not the eligibility requirements have been met within 40 days of the filing of the petition.

Certified Petitions - If the eligibility requirements have been met the OTAA will issue the worker group a decision titled:

Certification Regarding Eligibility to Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance

Note that "Worker Adjustment Assistance" includes individual services and benefits available to eligible workers under the TAA program.

Who is covered by the certification - Generally the certification covers all members of the worker group who are laid off or threatened with layoff during the three-year period beginning one year before the petition was filed and ending two years after the date of the certification Each certification specifies the beginning and ending dates.

Denied Petitions - If the eligibility requirements are not met, the OTAA will issue the worker group a "Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility to Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance." A negative determination denies workers certification of eligibility to apply for TAA services and benefits.

Workers who are denied certification for TAA may: 1) request administrative reconsideration of their petition; 2) appeal the denial; and/or 3) apply for reemployment services from other programs such as those available through the Workforce Investment Act's Dislocated Worker program also available through local One-Stop Career Centers.

Notification of Certification or Denial - The OTAA will notify petitioners and a company official of its determination. If the petition is certified, the state will notify the individual workers in the group. Workers who are certified by OTAA may then individually apply for reemployment and case management services and pre-layoff training if they are threatened with layoff; or if they already have been laid off workers may receive individual reemployment services and benefits including training and income support that will help them obtain suitable employment, or a wage supplement for older workers who become reemployed and meet other requirements. Certified workers apply for individual services and benefits through their local One-Stop Career Centers.

How to Challenge a Petition Denial

Administrative Reconsideration - Determinations on Trade Adjustment Assistance petitions are published in the Federal Register, the official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices of Federal organizations. Workers who are denied certification may request administrative reconsideration from the OTAA. Requests for reconsideration must: 1) be in writing; 2) include the TAA investigation number; 3) be signed; and 4) describe the group of workers included in the petition. Requests must also cite reasons why the workers consider the denial erroneous according to the facts, the interpretation of the facts, or the law itself. Reconsideration requests must be filed with the OTAA within 30 days of Federal Register publication and may be mailed or faxed to:

United States Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Trade Adjustment Assistance
Room N-5428
200 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington DC 20210
Phone: 202-693-3560 or 1-888-DOL-OTAA (1-888-365-6822)
Fax: 202-693-3584 or 3585
Web site: http://www.doleta.gov/tradeact

Judicial Review - Workers who are denied certification may seek judicial review of the OTAA's initial petition denial or denial following administrative reconsideration. Appeals for judicial review must be filed with the Case Management Supervisor, U.S Court of International Trade, One Federal Plaza, New York, New York 10007, (212) 264-2031. Appeals must be filed within 60 days of Federal Register publication of the initial denial or administrative reconsideration denial.