US Department of Labor Certifies Approximately 4,600 Workers in 14 States as Eligible to Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance

Press Release

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that approximately 4,600 workers from companies in 14 states -- California, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin -- are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance.

"Trade Adjustment Assistance will help these workers access the employment and training services they need to prepare for good jobs in promising industries," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Helping workers who are impacted by trade, and ensuring they are better positioned to secure permanent jobs that will bring them family-supporting wages, is an important part of keeping the nation's economic recovery on track."

Workers covered by these latest TAA certifications will be contacted by their respective states with instructions on how to apply for individual benefits and services. Those who apply may receive case management and re-employment services, training in new occupational skills and trade readjustment allowances that provide income support for workers enrolled in training. Some workers may also receive job search and relocation allowances, and the Health Coverage Tax Credit.

"This administration's top priorities are creating more jobs by laying a new foundation for economic growth and supporting families in these tough times," said Dr. Ed. Montgomery, executive director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers. "Today's TAA certifications are one tool to further this work. Through TAA certifications, workers and their families hit hard by automotive industry and industrial layoffs can receive income support, access to health care, job training and other assistance as they transition to new jobs in growing sectors of the economy."

While TAA is open to eligible workers of all ages, workers 50 years of age and older may elect to receive Re-employment Trade Adjustment Assistance instead. If a worker obtains new employment at wages less than $55,000 and less than those earned in adversely affected employment, the RTAA program will pay 50 percent of the difference between the old wage and the new wage, up to $12,000 over a two-year period. RTAA participants may also be eligible for retraining and the HCTC.

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