Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)

Workforce Solutions Capital Area offers financial assistance to eligible individuals for job search assistance, training, and other support services through funding from the TAA program.

TAA

Trade Adjustment Assistance

Workforce Solutions Capital Area offers financial assistance to eligible individuals for job search assistance, training, and other support services through funding from the TAA program.

What does the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers program provide?

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers is a federally funded program, with no costs to employers, that helps workers who are adversely affected by foreign imports or job shifts to a foreign country. Assistance is provided to eligible workers in the form of reemployment services, training, job search, relocation, and support benefits in the form of Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA), a Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC), and/or Alternative/Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA/RTAA) for older workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) oversees the TAA program. At the state level, TWC administers and oversees TAA, and shares in the delivery of TAA services with the 28 Workforce Development Boards, including Workforce Solutions Capital Area.

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What kind of training and services are available?

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.
How do I know if I am eligible?

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.

Trade-related Circumstances

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

How can I learn more?

Additional information on benefits and services are available at the DOL website.

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