Trade Adjustment Assistance provides services and benefits to workers who lose their jobs because of increased imports or because their employer shifted production to certain countries outside the United States. It is a federal program administered by the Idaho Department of Labor.

Eligibility

Group eligibility may include:

• A significant number or proportion of the workers in the firm must have become totally or partially separated or be threatened with total or partial separation;
• Sales or production, or both, at the workers’ firm have decreased;
• Imports of articles or services like or directly competitive with articles or services produced or supplied by the workers’ firm have increased;
• Imports of articles or production of component parts or supply of services used by the firm have increased;
• Production of articles or the supply of services have shifted to a foreign country;
• Firms that are downstream producers or supply testing, packaging, maintenance and transportation services to companies with TAA-certified workers.

Check with a local office representative for detailed eligibility information.

Services & benefits

Training and re-employment services

The Idaho Department of Labor offers re-employment assistance to workers including job referral, job search assistance, skills training, resume assistance and career guidance. When no suitable jobs are available and skill training is needed for re-employment, the Idaho Department of Labor can connect workers with available training services at no cost. If the training facility is located outside the commuting area of 25 miles or more, some transportation costs may be paid through the program.

Job search allowances

Job search allowances may be available to cover expenses incurred when seeking employment outside the local labor market area. Job search allowance may reimburse up to 90 percent of the cumulative authorized travel and subsistence costs not to exceed the allowable total. There are time limits for filing applications for job search allowances. Only travel in the United States is authorized. Applications must be filed before the job search begins.

Relocation allowances

Relocation allowances may be available to workers who find a job outside their local labor market area and must move as a condition of accepting that employment. Trade Adjustment Assistance will pay up to 90 percent of the allowable costs of moving family and household furnishings to a new location. In addition, relocated workers are eligible to receive a lump sum payment equal to three times their average weekly wage form the trade-affected employment, not to exceed the maximum based on petition number. There are time limits for filing applications for relocation allowances. Only travel in the United States is authorized. Applications must be filed before the relocation begins.

Weekly monetary benefits when state unemployment benefits are exhausted

Trade Adjustment Assistance-certified workers may be eligible for weekly Trade Readjustment Allowances after their regular state unemployment insurance benefits have been exhausted. When the worker is enrolled in, or attending, full-time TAA approved training, weekly trade readjustment benefits are paid during the eligibility period if the worker continues to make satisfactory progress.

Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance

Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) is a wage subsidy available to re-employed workers age 50 or older earning $50,000 or less annually. The program pays 50 percent of the difference between the old and new wage, with a maximum of $10,000 paid over a period of up to two years. Workers who receive Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance are eligible to apply for TAA training. Workers may qualify for RTAA when working full-time, or working part-time (at least 20 hours a week) and participating in full-time TAA approved training.

How to petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance certification

How to petition

A petition may be filed by any of the following: a group of two or more workers, an employer of a group of workers, a Union, a State Workforce Official, an American Job Center Operator/Partner, or another Duly Authorized Representative. The petition must be filed simultaneously with the Idaho Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Labor. Petitions are available online at https://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/petitioners/.

The Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance at the U.S. Department of Labor must determine if increased imports contributed to a company's decreased sales and production. It must decide if a significant number of workers have been laid off or if there is a strong indication that layoffs will occur. Approved certifications carry an impact date and generally are valid for two years from the date issued. If the petition is certified as eligible, affected workers may then apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance services.

For a list of Idaho Trade Adjustment Assistance petitions, click here.

If a petition is denied

Petitioners are notified in writing if their petition was denied. Those determinations, which must also be published in the Federal Register, can be appealed in writing through the Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance.

For more information, please contact your local office or:

Idaho Department of Labor, Workforce Administration
317 W. Main St.  Boise, ID 83735-0590
Phone: (208) 332-3570
Fax: (208) 947-0049
Email:  trade@labor.idaho.gov