Trade Reauthorization Act of 2015

For a printable PDF version click here.

This guide provides information regarding the benefits available under the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs and an overview of your rights and responsibilities when applying for these benefits.  For more info or to file an application for Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) or to file for Unemployment Insurance benefits call our Unemployment Insurance CARE Team.

Trade Adjustment Assistance Act Program

The Trade Act Program provides assistanct to workers who lose their jobs, or experience reduced hours and wages due to increased imports, or if their work was outsourced to foreign countries.  To obtain Trade Adjustement Assistance (TAA) or Re-Employment Trade Adjustement Assistance (RTAA) services and benefits, a group of three workers, a company official, a union official, a duly authorzied representative of teh workers, or a Department of Workforce Service representatives may file a petition to the Department of Labor on their website: www.doleta.gov/tradeact/.

The Office of Trade Adjustment Assisatnce (OTAA) will investigate the petition.  Investigations typically take 40 days to complete.  Upon completions, OTAA will notify the petitioners and a company official.  If the petition is certified, covered workers may apply for benefits and services if they meet the qualifying requirements to receive Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)

1. A certified worker may apply for TAA and RTAA services at the nearest employment center.
2. A certified worker may apply for TRA by calling the Workforce Services Unemployment Insurance CARE Team.
3. If the worker is denied, an appeal can be filed.

Benefits and Services

If you are covered by a trade petition, you may be eligible for one or more of the services mentioned in the brochure.

Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA)

TRA is an income support payment paid while participationg in full-teim TAA training.  Under certain circumstances, TRA is also available to workers who are seeking employment and waived from training becasue it is not feasible or appropriate.  The weekly benefit amount is based on your prior unemployment insurance claim filed after your separation and is payable after you have exhausted all rights to state and federal unemployment insurance benefits.  There are three types of TRA claims that are paide separately: Basic, Additional, and Completion.

To qualify for TRA you must:

1. Have worked for the trade-affected employer at least 26 weeks at wages of $30 or more a week during the 52-week period ending with the week of your total job separation.
2. Be unemployed due to a reduction of force.
3. Have a separation date that falls within the petition certification period; and
4. Be enrolled in or participating in full-time training or waived from training by the specified enrollment deadline date.  The enrollment deadline date may be extended 45 days due to extenuating circumstances.

Basic TRA

You can receive a total of 52 weeks of Basic TRA minus any entitlement of state and federal UI compensation. Basic TRA is payable during a 104 week benefit period following the most recent separation date that met the TRA requirements. You must be enrolled in or participating in full-time TAA training or be waived from the training requirement. If you have been waived or have completed training, Basic TRA may be available if seeking full-time work and a balance and time remains.

To receive Basic TRA if you are not in full-time training, you must:

• Actively seek work
• Keep records of employer contacts on a weekly basis. These contacts may be verified with the employers. Records must include: date of contact, company name and telephone number, person contacted, type of work, method of contacts and results
• Update your waiver with your employment counselor every 30 days

Additional TRA

If the full-time TAA training program extends beyond your Basic TRA, you may be eligible for Additional TRA. A timely application for training is required for specific certifications to qualify. Additional TRA begins when the Basic ends or exhausts or when TAA training starts and you have met the requirements for receiving additional benefits. You must be attending full-time TAA training to receive Additional TRA.

Completion TRA

Completion TRA is only available within the last 13 weeks of completing your training program after the Basic and Additional TRA entitlements are no longer available and the required 60 day benchmarks have been met.

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)

Re-Employment Services

The program offers assistance with finding a job. The following services are provided at Workforce Services Employment Centers:

• Employment registration
• Case assessment
• Employment counseling
• Job search assistance
• Supportive services

Training Services

If suitable employment is not available, you may be eligible for TAA funded training. Training may be approved for full-time or part-time, although full-time training is required to qualify for TRA benefit payments. Up to 130 weeks of approved training includes:

• Classroom training
• On-the-job training
• Custom-fit training
• Basic or remedial education (including literacy training, English as a second language, and pre-requisite classes)

There is no time limit to apply for training allowances to cover your actual training costs (tuition, books, etc.). However, there are time requirements for receiving TRA benefits while in approved full-time training.

Training approval criteria:

To be approved for training, the following criteria must be met:

1. There is no suitable employment
2. You would benefit from appropriate training
3. There is a reasonable expectation of employment following training
4. Training is reasonably available to you
5. You are qualified to obtain and complete the training, including having adequate financial resources to complete the training when income support payments exhaust
6. Training is available at reasonable costs

If approved:

• Full-time attendance is determined by the training facility
• Benchmarks must be maintained with an employment counselor every 60 days to qualify for Completion TRA
• Must be participating in full-time training

Job Search Allowance

If you are seeking work outside of your customary commuting area because a suitable job is not available in the area, you may receive allowances to cover expenses. You may be reimbursed no more than 90% of the total costs of allowable travel and subsistence up to a maximum of $1,250, as long as it is not payable or reimbursable from any other sources and may be paid at amounts set by applicable federal regulations.

Application for the job search allowance must be filed at a Workforce Services Employment Center before your job search begins. If job search begins prior to certification, your application must be filed prior to that date. You must file within 365 days of the petition certification date, or within 365 days of your last total separation from the trade affected company. You may apply within 182 days of completion of an approved training course if this is after the 365-day limit. The search may not begin prior to the date of separation.

Relocation Allowance

If you obtain suitable full-time work and are determined eligible, you may be reimbursed for approved expenses if you and your family must move to a new area outside your normal commuting area. Relocation allowances may include not more than 90% of the reasonable and necessary expenses of moving. The amount will be reduced if you are entitled to reimbursement from other sources. A lump sum payment equal to three times your average weekly wage, but up to a maximum of $1,250, is also available to help you get settled.

Requests for relocation allowance must be submitted to the nearest employment center before the relocation begins. Applications may be submitted prior to a certification, but will only be approved if the worker group is certified. If your application is filed after you relocate, you will not be paid any relocation allowances.

An application for a relocation allowance must be submitted before the 425th day after the layoff or certification (whichever is later), or within 182 days from the completion of an approved training course if after the 425-day limit. The relocation may not begin prior to the date of separation. If you are denied benefits you may appeal the decision.

Re-Employment Trade Adjustment Assistance

Re-Employment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) program benefits are provided as an additional benefit under the regular TAA program. Participation in RTAA allows older workers (50+ years of age), for whom retraining may not be appropriate, to accept reemployment at a lower wage and receive a wage subsidy. Certified workers who apply for RTAA may be eligible for a wage subsidy:

If you are age 50 or older and obtain new, full-time employment you may receive a wage subsidy of 50% of the difference between the former wage and re-employment wage. The re-employment wage must be less than $50,000 a year. Generally a maximum of $10,000 may be paid over a two-year period. Eligibility for benefits may be retroactive to the re-employment start date.

Important notice:

If you receive a payment for a week of RTAA, you may not claim UI/TRA benefits for the same week or vice versa.

How To Apply

Applications for RTAA, TAA Training, Job Search or Relocation Allowances can be made at a Workforce Services Employment Center. To locate the nearest employment center, visit jobs.utah.gov and click on “Find a DWS Location” at the bottom of the home page.

Health Coverage Tax Credit Assistance (HCTC)

If you are receiving the wage subsidy under the RTAA program, or qualify for TRA benefits, or would except your unemployment insurance benefits have not yet exhausted or ended, you may be eligible to receive tax credits on the monthly health insurance premiums you pay.

 For more information on HCTC visit the IRS website at irs.gov/individuals.