Submitting TAA certification amendment requests

Accessible letter PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2011/TEGL-6-11-ACC.pdf

                                                          CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                 TAA
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                            CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
                                                          OTAA
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
                                                          DATE
             Washington, D.C. 20210                       August 19, 2011



ADVISORY:          TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 6-11

TO:                STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
                   STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
                   STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS
                   STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS

FROM:              JANE OATES /s/
                   Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:           Instructions for Submitting Amendment Requests to the Office of Trade
                   Adjustment Assistance under the Trade Act of 1974

1. Purpose. To provide guidance to State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) or agencies designated
by Governors as “Cooperating State Agencies” (CSAs) (jointly referred to as “states”) to submit
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) determination amendment requests to the Office of Trade
Adjustment Assistance (OTAA). Effective October 1, 2011, the Employment and Training
Administration (ETA) encourages states to submit all requests to amend existing TAA
certifications under the Trade Act of 1974, as amended via the following electronic mail address:
[email protected].

2. References. The Trade Act of 1974, as amended (Pub. L. No. 93-618, as amended through
December 2010) (Act); The Omnibus Trade Act (Pub. L. No. 111-344) (Omnibus Trade Act);
The Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009 (Division B, Title I, Subtitle I
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, (Pub. L. No. 111-5) (2009
Amendments); The Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002, Division A Title I,
Subtitle A of the Trade Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-210) (2002 Amendments).

3. Background. The TAA program, under chapter 2 of title II of the Act (19 U.S.C. 2271 et
seq.), provides adjustment assistance for workers whose jobs have been adversely affected by
international trade. The TAA program for workers was established by the Act, which has been
amended numerous times. The 2002 Amendments to the Act apply to petitions filed before May
18, 2009, and after February 14, 2011. The 2009 Amendments apply to petitions filed on and
after May 18, 2009, through February 14, 2011, as provided under the Omnibus Trade Act.
Therefore, existing certifications include those issued under the requirements of the 2002
Amendments, and those issued under the requirements of the 2009 Amendments.




 RESCISSIONS                                             EXPIRATION DATE
 None                                                    Continuing
OTAA receives requests to amend existing TAA petition certifications. A certifying officer may
amend a certification, as appropriate, to identify all workers of the applicable firm who were
adversely affected by international trade. Reasons for amendments include: (a) to identify the
ownership change of a successor firm; (b) to facilitate state administration when workers’ wages
are reported under alternative company names or employer identification numbers; (c) to correct
technical errors; and/or (d) to clarify the identification of the worker group (e.g., leased workers
and employees of the subject firm who telework from off-site locations throughout the United
States). While most amendment requests originate in the states, local workforce boards and
company officials occasionally submit amendment requests. All amended certifications are
published in the Federal Register. The Department of Labor intends to allow amendments for
these reasons to ensure that all adversely affected workers in the applicable firm are eligible to
apply to states for program benefits, which is in the best interest of the workers. Therefore, the
Department of Labor considers such amendments even though the Act does not expressly
authorize amendments to a certification.

A majority of the requests are received via e-mail through the accounts of individual OTAA
staff, although some are received via telephone or facsimile. OTAA has created a dedicated
electronic mail account ([email protected]) for the workforce community to submit
these amendment requests.

4. Instructions. In order to more effectively process and resolve amendment requests, states
should submit amendment requests via the following electronic mail address:
[email protected]. Each request should contain the following information:
                 the case number of the certification to be amended;
                  a description of the request, including the reason(s) for the amendment;
                  subject firm name;
                 any relevant date(s);
                 contact information of the requester;
                 any electronic attachments relevant to the request; and
                 any additional information the state has that may help in processing the
                  amendment request.

Submitting amendment requests via the above electronic mail account does not preclude or limit
other methods of submission. Other organizations, including companies, may still submit
amendment requests. OTAA will continue to process and publicize amended determinations in
the Federal Register. Use of the electronic mail account will have no impact on the amendment
determination or the duration of the amendment request investigation.

5. Action Requested. States are requested to submit amendment requests to OTAA via
electronic mail through the following electronic mail address: [email protected].

6. Inquiries. State Administrators should direct all inquiries to the appropriate ETA Regional
Office.




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