DOL Certifies Approx. 3,000 Workers in 17 States as Eligible to Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
According to the recent announcement by the U. S. Department of Labor, about 3,000 company workers from 17 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia can apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).
The Secretary, Hilda L. Solis, stated that the U. S. Department of Labor is committed to help all the company workers through the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. The U.S. Department of Labor has further leveraged opportunities for those displaced workers to attain the necessary skills to get good jobs in areas of their local economies that have a promising future.
The respective states will contact its workers covered by the latest TAA certifications giving instructions on application procedure for individual benefits and services. The workers, who apply for the assistance will get case management and re-employment services, training in new occupational skills, and receive trade readjustment allowances, which give income support to the workers in training. Additional allowances for the workers include job search, relocation allowances, and the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC).
This Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program is applicable to workers of all ages. The Re-employment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) can be elected by workers who are 50 years and above. If a worker receives a new job at wages less than $55,000 and less than what is earned by workers in adversely affected employment, the worker will be paid 50 percent of the difference between the old and the new wage and upto $12,000 over a two-year period by the Re-employment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA). The participants of RTAA are eligible for the retraining program and the Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC). In addition, this Trade Adjustment Assistance program has also covered around 21 companies by these certifications.