If You Lost Your Job Due to Foreign Trade

Reemployment Services

Trade-certified workers are eligible for services including job search assistance, skills assessments, and advanced vocational skills training to meet the needs of Texas employers as well as other assistance, such as transportation reimbursements and child care while in training provided through Workforce Solutions offices.

Job Search & Relocation Allowances

If your Workforce Solutions office counselor confirms that there is no suitable work for you in your local area, then you may be eligible for job search and relocation allowances. This may mean we can pay for allowable expenses for your out-of-town job search trips and/or moving expenses when you relocate for a job.

Job Search Allowances

• Have at least one scheduled job interview with someone with hiring authority in the area of the job search trip.
  • Before each job search trip, submit a written Request for Job Search Allowance form. Get the form at the local Workforce Solutions office and submit to the TAA State Unit by email at: TAA@twc.texas.gov or fax to 512-936-0331.
• Make your written request no later than 365 calendar days after the date of your trade certification or after your most recent trade-affected layoff, whichever is later, or no later than 182 calendar days after completing TAA approved training.
• Keep your receipts from the job search trip and fill out your Daily Record/Itinerary we gave you when your request was approved. You both get the form and submit it through your Workforce Solutions counselor.

Relocation Allowance

• Have a suitable, long-term, verifiable job or have a valid offer of a job where you want to move.
• Before you begin the move, submit a written Request for Relocation Allowance. Get the form at the local Workforce Solutions office and submit to the TAA State Unit by email at: TAA@twc.texas.gov or fax to 512-936-0331.
• Make your written request no later than 425 calendar days after the date of your petition certification or after your most recent trade-affected layoff, whichever is later, or no later than 182 calendar days after completing TAA-approved training.
• TAA pays to move only your household goods and personal property as defined in federal regulations. For details, contact the Trade Services Unit by email at: TAA@twc.texas.gov before you begin moving.
• TAA does not pay for moving expenses paid by other sources, such as your employer.

TAA-Paid Training

If your Workforce Solutions counselor determines that there is no suitable work available to you, you may be eligible for training to prepare for a new job through Trade Adjustment Assistance. You should apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance-approved training as soon as possible in order to meet TAA deadlines.

How to Apply for TAA Training

Visit your nearest Workforce Solutions office to apply for TAA-approved training. Identify yourself as a trade-affected worker and ask to speak to a TAA counselor.

Workforce Solutions staff will assess your job skills and discuss benefits available for TAA participants and talk with you about your options. If you need training to obtain suitable work, you may be eligible for training with costs for tuition, fees and books covered by TAA funds.

The Workforce Solutions office staff will notify you when your training application has been approved and the training institution notifies the Workforce Solutions office that it has accepted you into an approved training program. You must start training within 30 calendar days of the enrollment date.

Types of TAA Training Available

Training covered under the Trade acts include classroom training, on the-job training, customized training designed to meet the needs of a specific employer or group of employers, apprenticeship programs, post-secondary education, prerequisite education or coursework and remedial education, which may include GED (Graduate Equivalency Degree) preparation, literacy training, basic math or ESL (English as a Second Language). The state of Texas uses TAA funds to pay the training provider.

To be supported under TAA, training must be fully completed and all certificates or degrees secured within the maximum timeline permitted under your petition number.

• 80,000 or greater: 130 weeks
• 70,000 through 79,999: 156 weeks
• 50,000 through 69,999: 130 weeks
• Less than 50,000: 104 weeks

Depending on your petition number, you may be approved to receive part-time or full-time training. Your eligibility for other types of TAA benefits may depend upon whether you are in full-time or part-time training; see the specific eligibility requirements for each type of TAA benefits.

If your petition number is 70,000 or higher and you are working but threatened with layoff, you may be eligible to enroll in a TAA-approved training program.

Eligibility for TAA Training

If your Workforce Solutions counselor determines that you meet the following requirements, you may be eligible for a TAA-approved training program:

• No suitable employment is available.
• You would benefit from appropriate training.
• There is a reasonable expectation of employment following completion of training.
• Training is reasonably available.
• You are qualified to undertake and complete such training.
• Training is available at a reasonable cost.

Trade Readjustment Allowance

Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) benefits are similar to regular unemployment benefits. You must apply for and exhaust regular and any available extended unemployment benefits to receive TRA benefits.

To receive TRA benefits you must participate in TAA-approved training or have a waiver of the training requirement. Some TRA benefits can only be paid while you are in TAA-approved training. It is important to start and complete your training quickly, while you have TRA benefits to help cover your living expenses during training.

To learn more, see Trade Readjustment Allowance Benefits.

Alternative/Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance

Alternative/Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA/RTAA) is a program for trade-affected workers age 50 or older who become reemployed at a job paying less than your previous trade-affected job.

ATAA may supplement your wages if you:

• Are at least age 50 at the time of reemployment
• Return to work within 26 weeks of your separation from the trade-affected employer
• Are working full time
• Did not return to work for the trade-affected employer in the same position from which you separated
• Have never received TRA benefits
• ATAA can be paid within a 2 year eligibility period that begins the week you become reemployed full time.

RTAA may supplement your wages if you are:

• At least age 50 at the time of reemployment
• Working full time, or working full time or part time while attending full-time TAA-approved training
• Earning less than you did before your trade-affected job loss
• Not working for the trade-affected employer in any position
• Not currently receiving TRA benefits
• RTAA can be paid within a 2 year eligibility period that begins with either the date of your reemployment or your exhaustion of unemployment benefits.

RTAA allows workers who participate in the wage supplement program to keep their eligibility for TAA benefits. You may be eligible to collect RTAA, at a reduced amount, after TAA-approved training and payment of TRA.

For questions regarding ATAA/RTAA, call our TRA Unit at 512-463-2999 or 888-741-0446.

Eligibility for ATAA/RTAA

• You must provide required documentation:
  • A copy of your driver's license to verify your age
  • Proof of reemployment such as a copy of the job offer letter or a paystub verifying you obtained employment within the eligibility period
  • If you have not received a paycheck, your new employer's signature on the RTAA application
  • Documentation showing your estimated annual wages from your trade-affected employer
• You meet salary requirements:
  • If your petition is numbered from 70,000 to 79,999, you can earn no more than $55,000 annually in gross wages, excluding overtime pay, at the new job.
  • If your petition is numbered 80,000 and higher, you can earn no more than $50,000 annually in gross wages, excluding overtime pay, at the new job.

ATAA/RTAA Benefit Amounts

• If your petition is numbered 70,000 to 79,999, you can receive up to $12,000 during the two-year eligibility period.
• If your petition is numbered 80,000 and higher, you can receive up to $10,000 during the two-year eligibility period.

Applying for ATAA/RTAA

To apply for ATAA/RTAA benefits, complete and return the Alternative/Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance Application or.

If you have an existing ATAA/RTAA claim and need to submit a biweekly request for benefits, complete and return the ATAA/Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance Subsidy Request or.

Health Coverage Tax Credit

The Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) pays partial premiums for qualified health insurance. If you are eligible, you may use the tax credit to pay health insurance premiums or as a credit on your annual income tax return. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) administers the HCTC. For more information, visit the IRS web page on HCTC, or call the IRS at 866-628-4282.