Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Division of Employment and Training Services

Petition Process

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Trade Adjustment Assistance

To be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance, you must have been laid off or put on a reduced work schedule (hours of work reduced to 80% or less of your average weekly hours, and wages reduced to 80% or less of your average weekly wage) on or after the Impact Date and before the ending date of certification.

To Apply: A petition for TAA may be filed by a group of three or more workers, or their union or a company official. Petitions may also be filed by One-Stop operators or partners, State Workforce Agencies, or State dislocated worker units.  Petition forms may be:

• obtained from your local State Employment Security Agency
• obtained from the State Dislocated Worker Office
• obtained from the TAA Office:

  Trade Adjustment Assistance Program Coordinator
  State of Alaska
  Department of Labor and Workforce Development
  Employment Security Division, TAA Program
  PO Box 115509
  Juneau, AK  99811
  (907) 465-5926 Phone
  (907) 465-4537 Fax
  dol.taa@alaska.gov

Or obtained from the US Department of Labor:

Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room C-5311
Washington, DC  20210

Note :  Petitions are often denied because they are filed too soon. The best time to file a petition is approximately 60 days before the anticipated layoff.

Petitioners should complete and sign the petition and send it directly to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program Coordinator at the TAA Program office listed above . The TAA office will ensure completion and fax it to the USDOL.  If a petition is filed by a union, company official, One-Stop operator or partner, State Workforce Agency, or State dislocated worker unit, only one petitioner signature is required. Otherwise, the petition must be signed by at least three workers.

The Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance has the responsibility of investigating the claims of a petition and determining whether a group meets the eligibility criteria for assistance. Once this is verified, the Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance will issue an official notice of decision no later than 40 days after receiving the petition.

In order for the U.S. Department of Labor to issue a Certification Regarding Eligibility to Apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance, all of the following must be true:

1. Workers have been totally or partially laid off, or there is a threat of a layoff.  
2. Sales or production have declined.  
3. Increased imports have contributed importantly to worker layoffs.  

Once these requirements have been satisfactorily met and reviewed, the U.S. Department of Labor issues a Certification Regarding Eligibility and workers may apply for services under the TAA program.

If a determination is made by the U.S. Department of Labor that states that workers who petitioned do not meet the eligibility requirements under this program, workers may obtain assistance from other job training programs such as the dislocated worker program under the Workforce Investment Act or  an administrative reconsideration may be requested of the U.S. Department of Labor's findings within 30 days after publication of the final determination in the Federal Register.

A request for administrative reconsideration must include:

• Name of company;
• TAA investigation number, 
• Description of the group of workers on whose behalf the petition was filed; and
• Specific reasons that the workers consider the decision to be in error, either according to the facts, the interpretation of the facts, or the law itself.  

Requests for administrative reconsideration should be mailed to:

U.S. Department of Labor
Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Room C-5311
Washington, DC 20210
(202) 693-3560

Workers may also file an appeal seeking judicial review of the U.S. Department of Labor's negative determination or re-determination within 60 days of publication of denial in the Federal Register. Appeals for judicial review must be filed with:

Office of the Clerk
U.S. Court of International Trade
One Federal Plaza
New York, New York 10007
(212) 264-7090

Nationwide information can be found at: http://www.doleta.gov/layoff/.  

The above are active links to the Federal Government's website for the most updated Petitioner lists.  For convenience, a list of TAA-certified Alaska companies is also included.  This list is not necessarily the most recent.  Please refer to the national government's website for updates and changes.