US Department of Labor Certifies Approximately 2,700 Workers in 9 States as Eligible to Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance

Press Release

US Department of Labor Certifies Approximately 2,700 Workers in 9 States as Eligible to Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that approximately 2,700 workers from companies in nine states -- Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio -- are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance.

"Helping workers who are impacted by trade, and ensuring they are better positioned to remain in secure jobs, is an important part of keeping the nation's economic recovery on track," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Trade Adjustment Assistance will help these workers access the type of services they need to upgrade their professional skills and enter good jobs in promising industries."

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.

"President Obama and this entire administration are committed to a coordinated federal response that will soften the blow of the current downturn and speed the economic recovery for communities affected by auto industry restructuring and other mass industrial layoffs," said Dr. Ed Montgomery, executive director of the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers. "Trade Adjustment Assistance is yet another tool the federal government is bringing to bear in helping American workers and families affected by industrial relocations in places like Saginaw and Auburn Hills, Mich., Crooksville and Minerva, Ohio, and South Beloit, Ill."

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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