TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE 2015 Annual Report

Transcription

1 TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE 2015 Aual Report

2 INTRODUCTION This report describes the services ad outcomes for Trade-certified workers who participated or completed traiig i the Trade Adjustmet Assistace (TAA) program durig State Fiscal Year 2015 (SFY 15). Trade-certified workers covered i this report were certified uder ad subject to the rules of the Trade Act of 1974, the Trade Act of 2002, the Trade ad Globalizatio Adjustmet Assistace Act of 2009, the Trade Adjustmet Assistace Extesio Act of 2011, or the suset provisios of the 2011 law, kow as Reversio The 2009 ad 2011 amedmets expaded the types of busiess layoffs eligible for Trade-related certificatio. As a result, the umber of workers covered by Trade petitios icreased dramatically, as did the umber of participats eterig traiig. Most recetly, Reversio 2014 limited the scope of certificatios by elimiatig service sector coverage. Texas Trade certificatios issued by the U.S. Departmet of Labor (DOL) ad workers covered by the certificatios based o separatio date are reflected i the followig chart: F 75 F F F TRADE SEPARATIONS F TRADE CERTIFICATIONS The Trade Adjustmet Assistace Reauthorizatio Act of 2015 (TAARA 2015), siged ito law o Jue 29, 2015, restores the service sector coverage ad reauthorizes the Health Care Tax Credit (HCTC) program beefits. Workers i the program trasitioed from Reversio 2014 to TAARA 2015 o September 28, 2015.

3 TAA SERVICE PROVISION AND OUTCOMES Durig SFY 15, the Texas workforce system provided the followig TAA services ad outcomes: 6,192 workers were determied potetially TAA eligible ad outreached for services. 2,130 workers applied for TAA services or beefits. 2,988 workers participated i TAA-supported traiig services. The most commo traiig occupatios supported were: y Heatig, Air Coditioig, ad Refrigeratio Mechaic; y Truck Driver; y Office Clerk; y Medical Assistat; ad y Network ad Computer System Admiistrator. y 346 workers participated i vocatioal ad remedial traiig programs, either itegrated or coducted cocurretly at the same school. The followig performace results were attaied for the 1,623 workers exitig TAA services i SFY 15: 1,235 (76 percet) etered employmet; Of those eterig employmet, 91 percet retaied employmet over the followig three quarters; Workers securig employmet regaied 87 percet of pre-layoff wage levels, based o a six-moth follow-up; ad 367 workers participated i basic skills ehacemet durig TAA-supported traiig. The followig were the most commo sectors i which workers secured employmet: Admiistrative ad Support Maufacturig Health Care ad Social Assistace

4 TAA OVERVIEW AND PETITION PROCESS TAA is a federal program that assists U.S. workers who have lost or may lose their jobs as a result of foreig trade. TAA seeks to provide adversely affected workers with opportuities to obtai the skills, credetials, resources, ad support ecessary to become reemployed. TAA services ad beefits are admiistered by the Texas Workforce Commissio (TWC) i cooperatio with Texas 28 Local Workforce Developmet Boards, kow collectively as Texas Workforce Solutios. The first step to receivig TAA beefits ad services is to file a petitio olie or by mail with DOL. Petitios ca be obtaied olie or at Workforce Solutios Offices ad ca be filed by: three or more workers i the same firm or subdivisio; the workers employer; a uio official or other duly authorized represetative of the workers; or desigated TWC or Workforce Solutios office staff. Upo receivig a petitio, DOL iitiates a ivestigatio to determie whether the circumstaces of the layoff meet the group eligibility criteria established by the Trade Act of 1974, as ameded.

5 TAA BENEFITS AND SERVICES If a worker is a member of a DOL Trade-certified group, the worker may be eligible for the followig beefits ad services at a Workforce Solutios Office: Employmet ad Case Maagemet Services Skill assessmets, career couselig, support services, iformatio o traiig, ad more. Traiig Up to 130 weeks of occupatioal traiig. Trade Readjustmet Allowaces Up to 130 weeks of wage subsidies for workers erolled i traiig withi 26 weeks of their Trade-related layoff or 26 weeks from the petitio certificatio, whichever date is later. Alterate Trade Adjustmet Assistace A wage subsidy for up to two years, available to workers age 50 or over who are reemployed at aual wages of $50,000 or less. Job Search Allowace Reimbursemet for costs of job search outside the worker s local commutig area. Relocatio Allowace Reimbursemet for relocatio costs for a job outside the worker s local commutig area. For additioal iformatio o TAA beefits ad services, visit TWC s Web page: trade-adjustmet-assistace-program-overview.

6 TAA PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY A Trade petitio idetifies a worker group at a specific firm or subdivisio ad covers all idividuals i that group. Geerally, if a worker is laid off, a petitio must be submitted withi oe year of the layoff for that worker to be covered ad certified uder a DOL-approved petitio. A group of workers may be eligible for TAA if their jobs are lost or threateed due to trade-related circumstaces as determied by DOL ivestigatio. These circumstaces may iclude: icreased imports of articles or products; shift i productio to a foreig coutry that has a free trade agreemet with the Uited States; employer s loss of busiess from a customer with TAA-certified workers; or employer idetified as trade-ijured by the Iteratioal Trade Commissio. After ivestigatio, DOL determies group eligibility to apply for TAA beefits ad services. Oce a determiatio is issued by DOL, TWC cotacts the employer to secure idividual worker eligibility, which is predicated o separatio due to lack of work (layoff). Workers are otified by TWC of their potetial eligibility, at which time they may apply for services at Workforce Solutios offices. TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION 101 East 15th Street Austi, Texas Equal Opportuity Employer/Program Auxiliary aids ad services are available upo request to idividuals with disabilities. Relay Texas: (TTY) ad 711 (Voice). Copies of this publicatio (12/2015) have bee distributed i compliace with the State Depository Law, ad are available for public use through the Texas State Publicatio Depository Program at the Texas State Library ad other state depository libraries.