TAA worker services during program phase-out

CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                 Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                            CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                        OTAA
             Washington, D.C. 20210                       DATE
                                                          January 3, 2024

ADVISORY:       TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 07-23

TO:             STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
                STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
                AFFILIATE AMERICAN JOB CENTER MANAGERS
                COMPREHENSIVE AMERICAN JOB CENTER MANAGERS
                STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS
                STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARD CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS
                STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS
                STATE UI DIRECTORS
                RAPID RESPONSE COORDINATORS
                TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE LEADS

FROM:           BRENT PARTON
                Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:        Ongoing Operations of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers
                Program During Phase-Out Termination

1. Purpose. To advise and provide clarity to State Workforce Agencies or agencies designated
   by Governors as “Cooperating State Agencies” (CSAs or “States”) on the ongoing required
   activities under the TAA Program pending reauthorization.

2. Action Requested. Use this document as companion guidance to Training and Employment
   Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 24-20 and TEGL No. 24-20, Change 1, Operating Instructions
   for Implementing the Reversion Provisions of the Amendments to the Trade Act of 1974
   Enacted by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015, TEGL No. 13-21,
   Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers and Alternative Trade Adjustment
   Assistance (ATAA) and Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) Program
   Operations after June 30, 2022, and TEGL No. 14-22, Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
   for Workers Program Phase-out Termination Frequently Asked Questions. States must
   promptly ensure that the appropriate staff and workforce partners are notified of and familiar
   with the contents of this TEGL.

3. Summary and Background.

       a. Summary – This TEGL provides additional, clarifying guidance to states about the
          continuing requirement to provide benefits and services under the TAA Program to
          eligible trade-affected workers.

   RESCISSIONS                                             EXPIRATION DATE
   None                                                    Continuing

   b. Background – The Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TAARA
      2015) (Pub. L. 114-27), at Section 406, terminated the TAA Program on July 1, 2022.
      This termination is not a cliff termination, but rather a phase-out termination. The
      termination provisions prohibit the Department from investigating or certifying petitions
      for TAA. However, States are required to continue to provide workers access to the
      benefits and services of the TAA Program and encouraged to continue to conduct
      outreach to eligible workers. Although reauthorization has taken longer than anticipated,
      the Department continues to support the Administration and Congress in their efforts to
      reauthorize the TAA Program.

4. Ongoing Operations.

   a. Retention of Staff
      As discussed in this guidance, States have ongoing required responsibilities under the
      TAA Program. It is vital that states do their best to retain qualified and trained TAA
      Program staff to ensure eligible workers have access to the benefits and services available
      under the TAA Program and to continue required program administration functions.

   b. Outreach
      Although the Department is currently unable to investigate petitions or render
      determinations, there are still tens of thousands of eligible trade-affected workers who
      have not yet accessed the benefits and services under the TAA Program. TAA Program
      regulations provide for outreach requirements, including 20 CFR § 618.816(a), requiring
      the state to notify all workers who file an application for unemployment insurance about
      the benefits and services available under the TAA Program. Further, 20 CFR §
      618.816(e) requires the state to notify members of eligible worker groups with individual
      notifications of their eligibility through the mail and through at least one modern
      electronic communications method – such as text messages, or emails. States are also
      encouraged to utilize social media, websites, and other communication methods such as
      radio, public service announcements, and press releases. Since termination, states have
      shown great success in utilizing targeted communication strategies that go well beyond
      the standard UI and mail notices. In the four quarters following termination, more than
      1,300 new participants have been enrolled in the TAA Program. Many of these new
      participants are workers eligible under petitions certified years prior to termination who
      never accessed the benefits and services for which they are eligible and who have since
      been enrolled as a direct result of the targeted outreach strategies deployed by the states.
      The average time from separation to enrollment for the most recent quarter was over
      three years. More than 4,000 participants remain active in the TAA Program.
      Attachment I provides more information on outreach.

   c. Training
      Trade-affected workers have a lifetime entitlement to apply for training under the TAA
      Program. There are no changes to the training approval criteria in Section 236, as further
      described in 20 CFR § 618.610. Attachment II provides more information on the
      definition of suitable employment. Funding for Training and Other Activities (TaOA)
      will be provided to states in fiscal year (FY) 2024. In addition, states still have access to

   FY 2022 and FY 2023 funds.

d. Employment and Case Management Services
   Employment and case management services have no additional eligibility criteria or
   deadline for accessing these services beyond the general TAA Program eligibility
   requirements located in Sec. 236 of the Trade Act. Neither the TAA Program regulations
   nor their Preamble provide any additional guidance on the operational impact of this
   reality. A trade-affected worker may seek these services at any time at their nearest
   American Job Center or through any electronic portal supported by the American Job
   Center Network. Primary funding for the provision of these services must be the TAA
   Program. The requirements at 20 CFR § 618.310 to provide employment and case
   management services remain in full effect. However, since all trade-affected workers are
   also Dislocated Workers under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
   and are also eligible for services under Wagner-Peyser, states should leverage all
   appropriate sources to provide employment and case management services to workers.
   Importantly, the requirement to co-enroll Trade participants in the WIOA dislocated
   worker program, established at 20 CFR § 618.325, remains in full effect.

e. Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA)
   There are various deadlines workers must meet to be initially eligible for TRA. For many
   trade-affected workers, these deadlines have now passed. The first deadline to meet is to
   receive a first TRA payment within the 104-week period described at 20 CFR § 618.755.
   A worker separated on June 30, 2022, has until June 30, 2024, to receive their first
   payment. In addition, workers must meet the training enrollment deadlines described in
   20 CFR § 618.725 or TEGL No. 24-20 to be eligible for TRA. Workers certified under
   the Reversion 2021 Program must be enrolled in or receive a waiver from training within
   8 weeks of certification or 16 weeks of separation. Workers certified under the 2015
   Program must be enrolled in or receive a waiver from training within 26 weeks of
   certification or separation. There are exceptions to these deadlines which are discussed in
   f. and g. below. Given these deadline requirements and most workers’ need for financial
   support while participating in training, States are reporting work-based learning as the
   preferred training strategy for trade-affected workers who are not eligible for TRA. This
   strategy may become integral as the program continues in termination.

f. Equitable Tolling
   Equitable tolling allows for TAA Program deadlines to be extended when an
   extraordinary circumstance prevented a trade-affected worker’s timely action and the
   worker otherwise acted with diligence. Equitable tolling, as described in 20 CFR §
   618.888, is available for all trade-affected workers, regardless of the version of the TAA
   Program under which they were certified.

g. Good Cause / Justifiable Cause
   During termination, the good cause provisions of 20 CFR § 618.730 remain available for
   workers certified under the 2015 Program. Good cause provisions are not allowable
   under Reversion 2021. The same is true for the justifiable cause provision at 20 CFR §

   618.770. For more on good cause and justifiable cause, see TEGL No. 24-20 Attachment
   A.

h. Program Oversight
   As of the quarter-ending June 30, 2023, there are more than 4,000 active TAA
   participants. States are still required to comply with the requirements at 20 CFR §
   618.860(d) and 20 CFR § 618.864(g) to conduct oversight of the TAA Program,
   including file reviews. States should discuss their oversight strategies with the
   appropriate Regional Office.

i. Reporting
   States are required to continue to provide all TAA required reports.

   States are required to submit participant reports through the Workforce Integrated
   Performance System (WIPS) on the ETA-9172 (OMB Control No. 1205-0521) and
   continue to report both participants currently receiving services and those who have
   exited for ten (10) quarters after exit to fully capture performance outcomes.

   TAA collects information on state efforts to improve outcomes through WIPS on the
   ETA-9173 (OMB Control No. 1205-0392) and are required to do so until there are no
   participant records within ten (10) quarters after exit in the ETA-9172.

   Quarterly financial reporting for active TAA grants including training and other
   activities, TRA, and ATAA/RTAA must continue through the Payment Management
   System (PMS) on the applicable ETA-9130 form (OMB Control No. 1205-0461).

   States are required to continue to review and respond to missed measures quarterly as
   described in TEGL No. 01-19, Change 1: Trade Adjustment Assistance Data Integrity
   (TAADI). Individual measures that do not have any records in the denominator as well
   as any passed measures do not require a response. If a state does not have any measures
   that did not pass in a quarter, no TAADI response is required.

   The annual TAA Administrative Collection of States (TAAACS) collected on form ETA-
   9189 (OMB Control No. 1205-0540) is required to be completed by all states.

j. TAA as a Required One-Stop Partner
   WIOA Sec. 121(b)(1)(B)(vii) establishes the TAA Program as a required one-stop
   partner. The TAA regulations at 20 CFR § 618.305 directs states to comply with the
   partnership requirements in WIOA Sec. 121(b)(1)(A), as described by the memorandum
   of understandings (MOU) established under the WIOA regulations at 20 CFR Subpart C.

k. Alternative / Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA/RTAA)
   For most workers, there is no longer a pathway to ATAA or RTAA eligibility.
   As first explained in TEGL No. 13-21, the termination provisions at Section 246(b)
   provides that only workers who have already begun receiving ATAA or RTAA payments

       as of June 30, 2022, may continue to receive payments under the respective program after
       that date.

   l. Job Search and Relocation Allowances
      Under the Job Search and Relocation Allowances, there are different deadlines that apply
      to different workers. See 20 CFR § 618 Subpart D for more details.

5. Inquiries. Please direct inquiries to the appropriate Regional Office.

6. References.
      • Chapter 2 of Title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (Pub. L. 93-618) (Trade
         Act)(codified at 19 U.S.C. §§ 2271 et seq.)
      • Pub. L. 114-27, Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TAARA
         2015);
      • Pub. L. 112-40, Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 (TAAEA);
      • Pub. L. 111-5, Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009
         (TGAAA);
      • Pub. L. 107-210, Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002 (TAARA 2002);
      • Pub. L. 113-128, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), 29 U.S.C.
         3101 et seq.;
      • TAA Final Rule, 20 CFR Part 618, 85 FR 51896 (August 21, 2020);
      • WIOA Joint Final Rule, 20 CFR Part 678, 81 FR 55792 (August 19, 2016);
      • Agreement Between the Governor and Secretary of Labor, United States Department
         of Labor, to Carry Out the Provisions of Subchapters A, B, and C of Chapter 2 of
         Title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended by the Trade Adjustment Assistance
         Reauthorization Act of 2015;
      • TEGL No. 11-02 and Changes 1, 2, and 3 - Operating Instructions for Implementing
         the Amendments to the Trade Act of 1974 Enacted by the Trade Act of 2002;
      • TEGL No. 22-08 and Change 1 - Operating Instructions for Implementing the
         Amendments to the Trade Act of 1974 Enacted by the Trade and Globalization
         Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009;
      • TEGL No. 24-20 - Operating Instructions for Implementing the Reversion Provisions
         of the Amendments to the Trade Act of 1974 Enacted by the Trade Adjustment
         Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015, and Change 1;
      • TEGL No. 13-21 - Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers and Alternative
         Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) and Reemployment Trade Adjustment
         Assistance (RTAA) Program Operations after June 30, 2022; and
      • TEGL No. 3-23 - Allowable Uses of Funds for Outreach Activities for Federal
         Formula and Competitive Grant Awards.

7. Attachment(s).

•   Attachment I. Effective Outreach Strategies
•   Attachment II. Definition of Suitable Employment in Relation to Criterion 1 of TAA
    Training Eligibility

                                                                                     Attachment I

                                Real-World Outreach Strategies
This attachment contains resources that have been developed and implemented in states to
engage workers regarding the TAA Program. Although some of these resources are restricted to
TAA, much of what is presented below reinforces categories of allowable outreach that were
outlined in TEGL No. 03-23. The list below expands beyond “what” is allowed to real-world
examples of “how” different outreach methods have been employed by TAA staffs across the
country.
Thanks to TAA state staffs applying new methods to alert, notify, and engage workers, the TAA
Program enjoys hundreds of new enrollments each quarter. In many cases, this success is
attributable to a reach-back approach that relies on using a variety of new materials and methods
to effectively connect with workers, often years after non-response to initial notification using
traditional approaches. The results of successful enrollments based on a second round of
outreach demonstrates that creative strategies have a positive impact on engagement.
The list below provides:
   •   Outreach Strategies – Descriptions of outreach strategies including featured state
       examples.
   •   Related content – Each numbered heading is a hyperlink to related material. An expanded
       index is also available as a link at the bottom of this document.
   •   Contacts for follow up on related content – a link to state TAA coordinators contact
       information is provided to allow for convenient follow up on learning more about
       strategies that are posted.
Examples

1. Social Media/Geofencing – Social media can be a very effective tool for creating brand
   awareness and educating the public about the existence of the TAA Program. Indiana
   conducted an inexpensive geofencing strategy that employs social media (Facebook,
   Instagram, YouTube) posts that are deposited into feeds of those who live or travel to
   geographical areas where layoffs occur to alert workers of the program and its benefits. An
   analysis of data showed dramatically better results than in outreach efforts using more
   traditional methods.

2. In-Person Events/Related Incentives – In-person events can be an effective way to engage
   participants. In one example, the state of Indiana uses gas cards as a very successful
   incentive to encourage eligible workers to attend orientations to learn about the program and
   apply.

3. Multi-Prong Outreach – This involves using multiple approaches to educate and engage
   individual workers. The state of Oregon ties together successive outreach attempts to alert a
   worker as to the next communication (interweaving auto-dialer, person to person calls,
   emails, and letters), which has been proven to lower barriers to trust and increase receptivity.
   The state of Pennsylvania has adopted a “three touch strategy” which looks thoughtfully at

                                                                                    Attachment I

   successive outreach engagements with participants in a manner that measures what works
   and what doesn’t in various outreach “campaigns”.

4. Use of UI claimant and/or Labor Exchange Data – Leverages UI claimant and Wagner-
   Peyser data for the purpose of identifying workers laid off by employers of eligible worker
   groups. Cross matching UI system and Wagner-Peyser data to update contact information
   from past worker lists can also alert staff to new workers that were not provided by the
   employer in the initial worker group list.
5. English Language Learners – Providing effective outreach to worker groups that have
   limited English can present special problems, especially in situations where there are
   multiple primary languages spoken. The state of Maine recently presented a webinar that
   summarized successes and lessons learned from conducting program orientations for a large
   multi-language worker group.
6. Peer Advocacy – One highly effective strategy that is helpful in large layoffs involves hiring
   workers from within the worker group to conduct outreach to their peers, helping to
   demystify the application enrollment and boost the credibility of program participation. The
   states of Maine and Oregon have used this method successfully.

7. Computer Assessment – Access to computer and internet, as well as the computer skills
   necessary to utilize them, can make all the difference in successful program outreach and
   engagement. This applies to meaningful connection in all geographies and populations, but
   especially in rural areas and among underserved communities. By understanding the extent
   that workers can access and use technology, TAA can more effectively assess needs to
   support effective outreach communications and supports. The state of Oregon has
   comprehensively addressed this need in the development of an IT Pilot designed to equip
   participants with training and access to internet and computers to provide critical computer
   literacy skills.
8. Mobile Units – Mobile units can greatly extend flexibility to provide outreach to areas across
   the state, including rural areas. The state of Tennessee has a very mature model for this
   strategy.
9. Partnerships – One of the cornerstones of a successful workforce program lies in its ability
   to collaborate with partner programs and other organizations that share our mission to attract,
   engage, and support workers in a timely fashion with the skills and resources needed to meet
   employer needs. Below are some of the partners that can provide critical linkages in serving
   that mission.
       a. Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) – This recently
           expanded ETA funded program is designed to provide a link for UI claimants to
           reemployment, including serving as a liaison for workforce programs in identifying
           workers’ reemployment needs. Several TAA state programs partner closely with
           RESEA through worker orientations and other opportunities for engaging laid off
           workers with an eye to minimizing the period of unemployment.

                                                                                     Attachment I

       b. Rapid Response – Intended to be the original vanguard for all ETA workforce
          programs, Rapid Response is tasked with both responding to layoffs and conducting
          ongoing layoff aversion activities to prevent or minimize layoffs.
       c. Unions – Unions are very useful stakeholders in networking to support worker
          engagement, as they have long established ties with both employers and workers.
          The state of Washington is a leader in Trade Program/Union partnership through the
          state’s Labor Council.
10. Printed Materials – Used for different audiences, well-designed flyers can provide
    scannable, easy to consume formats for program orientation and steps to learn more about
    applying. The power of print materials can be extended in a number of ways, including QR
    codes on T-shirts and other items. The reach of print advertisements can be extended to the
    sides of buses, inside metro trains, as well as roadside billboards.
11. Eligibility Notifications – Effective notifications, such as those provided by the state of
    Colorado, include upfront information on benefits and services, simplified language with
    distinct hyperlinks to “learn more” about program benefits, program application, and contact
    information.
12. Radio and TV Spots – TV and Radio spots that promote program awareness must be short
    to be economical. But as seen by the example of a radio spot by Indiana, even a 30 second
    spot can be memorable and impactful.
13. Videos – As demonstrated in one-minute videos produced by the state of Arizona, video
    program overviews can also be surprisingly short but effective in providing “brand
    awareness” with contact information to find out more. In other cases, videos can be used to
    provide more in-depth overviews (such as those developed by the states of Connecticut and
    Maryland) or to provide snapshots of various program benefits and services (as seen in
    videos from the state of Massachusetts) in a manner that is more engaging than a similar
    depth of material provided in print. Once hosted on public platforms like YouTube, videos
    can be embedded to help enliven and enhance a variety of outreach materials. Time
    increments are provided for context on depth of content. Success stories are another way to
    engage participants in understanding the process and impact of the program from a personal
    perspective. Brief but authentic testimonials from real participants, such as those developed
    by the states of Kansas and Michigan, can establish an initial sense of identification with the
    program, which is key to worker engagement.

14. Website – Most workforce programs have websites that contain comprehensive information
    about what they have to offer, how to apply, etc. Sometimes the challenge is to provide an
    interface that is not so full of information that it can be difficult to navigate. The state of
    Nebraska provides a streamlined web-page format that provides easy access to program
    information and collection of initial intake information. For more complicated web pages,
    tools such as chatbots, as seen in the state of Minnesota, can be used to respond and direct
    users to appropriate resources.

                                                                                      Attachment I

15. Person-to-Person Engagement – Direct contact with eligible workers is unquestionably the
    most promising path to successful engagement, but only if it is handled with the necessary
    sensitivity. For example, reaching out to workers via phone about their program eligibility
    can be just such an outreach opportunity. However, “cold-calling” workers can be
    misinterpreted in a manner that can result in workers not taking the call seriously or even
    worse, in a way that makes the worker fearful or hostile. The state of Oregon has developed
    a series of simple scenarios of typical issues that arise during outreach calls that can be used
    for training staff to support positive outcomes. This category can also include coaching staff
    on face-to-face engagement, which is equally important to handle with care.
A consolidated list of links to resources may be found here on the TAA WorkforceGPS website.
Contact information for State Trade Coordinators who can be references for additional
information on posted content is here.

                                                                                 Attachment II

 Definition of Suitable Employment in Relation to Criterion 1 of TAA Training Eligibility

20 CFR § 618.110 Definition: “Suitable employment means, with respect to a worker, work of a
substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker's past adversely affected employment,
and wages for such work that are not less than 80 percent of the worker's average weekly wage.
Part-time, temporary, short-term, or threatened employment is not suitable employment.” This
definition is applied in Criterion 1 of TAA training eligibility at 20 CFR § 618.610(a), which
requires that no suitable employment be available for the worker.

The definition of suitable employment in 20 CFR § 618.110 consists of multiple components.
All components of the definition must be met for a job to meet the definition of suitable
employment. If one component fails to meet the definition, the worker does not have suitable
employment and TAA training benefits can be considered.

   Applying the Definition of Suitable Employment under Criteria 1 for Trade-approved
                                         Training

                         Compare job duties from separation job compared to current job. Is
 Substantially equal
                         the new job equal to, lower or higher skilled than their adversely
 or higher skill set
                         affected employment?
                         Information that may be collected from the worker to determine
 Average weekly          whether this component is met may include:
 wages of at least       (1) What is their weekly wage (hourly rate and how many hours) now
 80% of the TAA-         vs. what was their weekly wage (hourly rate and how many hours) in
 qualifying              adversely affected employment?
 separation              (2) Does the new job or separating employment include commission,
                         regular bonuses, retention pay- if so, what was/is it?
                         Does the worker’s current employment have an outstanding WARN
 Threatened with         notice, layoff announcement from the employer, multiple active UI
 layoff                  claims, or does the worker have a future layoff? If yes, eligible
                         under Criteria 1, regardless of wages.
 Short-term /            Does the new employment have an end date or is the employment
 Temporary               with a temporary agency or contract firm? If yes, eligible under
 Employment              Criteria 1, regardless of wages.
 Part-Time               Is the new employment less than full-time? If yes, eligible under
 Employment              Criteria 1, regardless of wages.