Former Hostess employees are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance
The Department of Labor certified approximately 18,000 workers laid off in 48 states from 864 Hostess company locations as eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).
Workers who qualify for TAA can receive case management and re-employment services, training in new occupational skills and/or trade readjustment allowances that provide income support for workers enrolled in training. Workers may also receive job search and relocation allowances, and the Health Coverage Tax Credit.
TAA is open to eligible workers of all ages, but workers 50 years of age and older may elect to receive Re-employment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA) instead. For these 50 plus workers who obtain new employment at wages less than $50,000 and less than those earned in the trade-impacted employment, the RTAA program will pay 50% of the difference between the old wage and the new wage, up to $10,000 over a two-year period. RTAA participants may also be eligible for retraining and By the HCTC.
This TAA certification was based on a DOL investigation to determine whether the layoff event met the group eligibility criteria set forth by the Trade Act of 1974. It determined that increased imports of baked products contributed importantly to the company’s sales declines and worker separations.
Workers covered by this TAA certification will be contacted by their respective state workforce agencies, in California the Employment Development Department, with instructions on how to apply for individual benefits and services.
For more information on TAA visit http://www.doleta.gov. Contact your labor law counsel with any additional questions.