Help Approved For Laid Off Ethan Allen
Workers
FRIDAY, August 7 – The U.S. Labor Department today
approved trade adjustment assistance for Ethan Allen employees in
Beecher Falls, Vt., Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) announced.
The Vermont congressional
delegation supported an application submitted by the Vermont Department
of Labor on behalf of the employees for assistance after Ethan Allen
announced up to 260 employees would lose their jobs at the company’s
Beecher Falls location. Members of New Hampshire’s Congressional
delegation, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R-Vt.) and New Hampshire Gov. John
Lynch (D-N.H.) also supported the application.
“For decades Ethan Allen has been a major economic
engine in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and the North Country of New
Hampshire,” they wrote to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on June 30.
“With few other employment opportunities in the area, TAA is critical in
extending unemployment benefits and providing retraining opportunities
to Ethan Allen’s displaced workers.”
The Trade Adjustment Assistance program provides aid
to workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are
reduced as a result of increased imports. It offers a variety of
benefits and services to help unemployed workers prepare for and obtain
suitable employment. Workers may be eligible for training, job search
and relocation allowances, income support and other services.
The program is administered by the Employment and
Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. States serve as
agents to the Labor Department in administering the program.
For more information on how the program works, click
here.
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