Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)

Benefits and services available to certified trade-impacted workers vary depending upon the specific Trade law in effect at the time of DOL certification. Broadly speaking, the benefits and services include the following:

• Employment and Case Management Services – Skill assessments, career counseling, job search assistance, information on training, and more.
• Training – Vocational and remedial training. The maximum duration of TAA-supported training will vary between 104 and 156 weeks, dependent on petition number.
• Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) – Wage subsidies for workers enrolled in full-time training who are enrolled no later than their waiver/in training deadline date. The maximum duration of TRA support will vary between 104 and 156 weeks, dependent on petition number and course of training.
• Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) – A tax credit covering 72.5% of the worker’s monthly premium for qualified health insurance.
• Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) – A wage subsidy for up to 2 years available to workers age 50 or over who are reemployed at annual wages of $50,000 or less.
• Job Search Allowance – Reimbursement for job search costs outside the worker’s local area.
• Relocation Allowance – Reimbursement for relocation costs for a job outside the worker’s local area.

To qualify, applicants must be laid off from a job covered under a trade petition certified by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).

To receive TAA benefits and services, applicants must file a petition online or by mail with DOL. Petitions may be filed by:

• Three or more workers in the same firm or subdivision;
• The workers’ employer;
• A union official or other duly authorized representative of such workers; or
• Texas Workforce Solutions

Generally, if a worker is laid off, a petition must be submitted within one year of the layoff for that worker to be covered by the petition and the certification if DOL grants the petition.

Upon receiving a petition, DOL initiates an investigation to determine whether the circumstances of the layoff meet the group eligibility criteria established by the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.

A petition identifies a worker group at a specific firm or subdivision and covers all individuals in that group. A group of workers may be eligible for TAA if their jobs are lost or threatened due to trade-related circumstances as determined by the DOL investigation. These circumstances may include:

• Increased imports of either articles or services;
• A shift in production to or an acquisition of services or articles from any foreign country by a worker’s company;
• A worker’s employer’s loss of business from a customer with TAA-certified workers; or
• A worker’s employer is identified as trade-injured by the International Trade Commission (ITC).

When a trade petition is certified by DOL, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) will contact the employer to secure a list of the affected workers and send each individual listed under the petition a notice (Form BT-1) that includes the following information:

• Notification of potential eligibility for the TAA program
• TAA program benefits and services
• Deadline to apply for benefits
• Instructions to contact a Workforce Solutions office as soon as possible