The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall
have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Adversely affected employment--Employment in which
workers are eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).
(2) Adversely affected incumbent worker--An individual
who:
(A) is a member of a worker group certified as eligible
to apply for the TAA Program;
(B) has not been totally or partially separated from
adversely affected employment; and
(C) is threatened with total or partial separation,
as determined by the United States Department of Labor (DOL).
(3) Adversely affected worker--An individual, including
an employer, who because of lack of work in adversely affected employment,
has been totally or partially separated from such employment.
(4) Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance for Older
Workers/Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance--Benefits available
to workers in an eligible worker group who are at least 50 years of
age and who obtain different, full-time employment following separation
from adversely affected employment, at wages less than those earned
in the adversely affected employment. These workers may receive up
to half of the difference between the worker's old wage and the new
wage, as set forth in the Trade Act.
(5) Benchmarking--A process conducted no less often
than once every 60 days and designed to monitor and ensure the worker
progresses toward completing the approved training based on two criteria:
(A) Maintaining satisfactory academic standing; and
(B) Staying on schedule to complete training within
the time frame identified in the approved training plan.
(6) Bona fide application for training--Any document
developed by a Board or provided by the Agency that meets the requirements
of 20 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §617.3(h)(1)(i), and
is signed and dated by the participant, which includes the participant's
name, Trade petition number, and specific occupational training.
(7) Contextualized learning--Learning, which includes
English and basic skills, presented in the context of the selected
vocational skills training.
(8) Individual employment plan (IEP)--A revisable document
containing an ongoing strategy, jointly developed by the trade-affected
worker and the case worker, identifying the worker's employment goals
and appropriate achievement objectives.
(9) Job search allowance--Benefit provided to trade-affected
workers to support out-of-area job search when employment is not available
within the Commission-established local commuting area.
(10) Labor market information--Information used to
measure expected job market conditions that include, but are not limited
to, job order activity, short-term projections data, job vacancy surveys,
business visitation programs, and local and regional strategic plans.
(11) Rapid Response services--As defined by Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act §3(51); 20 CFR Part 652, Subpart
C; 20 CFR §§665.300, 665.310, and 665.320; and the Trade
Act.
(12) Relocation allowance--A benefit provided to a
trade-affected worker to support relocation of the worker's household
and family when suitable employment or employment that pays a wage
of at least the 75th percentile of national wages is not available
to the worker within the Commission-established local commuting area
and relocation is necessary to secure suitable employment.
(13) Suitable employment--Any employment that meets
the requirements of 19 United States Code (USC) §2296, as referenced
in 20 CFR Part 618, Subpart F, Reemployment Services, and in particular §618.610(a)(1),
which is employment that results in work of an equal or higher skill
level as compared to the worker's past adversely affected employment,
with wages of not less than 80 percent of the worker's average weekly
wage.
(14) Trade Act--The federal statutes relating to Trade
Adjustment Assistance and Trade Readjustment Allowances. For purposes
of this chapter, references to the "Trade Act" shall include references
to the federal statutes relating to the Trade Act of 1974, as amended,
which include the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act of 2002;
the Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2009; the
Omnibus Trade Act of 2010; the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension
Act of 2011; the sunset provisions of the Trade Adjustment Assistance
Extension Act of 2011, referred to as Reversion 2014; and reversion
provisions of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act
of 2015, referred to as Reversion 2021.
(15) Traded-affected worker--A category including both
adversely affected workers and adversely affected incumbent workers.
(16) Trade benefits--Benefits available to any member
of a worker group certified by DOL as trade-affected.
(17) Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA)--A weekly
allowance payable to an adversely affected worker who meets the requirements
of 20 CFR Part 618, Subpart G.
(18) Unemployment Insurance (UI)--UI program as set
forth in Texas Labor Code, §201.001 et seq.
(19) Waiver of the training requirement--A document
developed by the Agency, which may be adapted by a Board, that meets
the requirements of the Trade Act, and is approved by state merit
staff, waiving the requirement to be enrolled in Trade-funded training
in order to receive TRA.
(20) WARN--The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification
Act, as set forth in 29 USC Chapter 23.
(21) Work-based training--Training services specifically
designed to meet an employer's staffing and skill needs, as set forth
by 20 CFR §618.635, including on-the-job and customized training,
and apprenticeship programs.
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