Priority of Service is given to Veterans and eligible spouses. Veteran, for the sole purpose of Priority of Service, means a person who served at least one day in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Active service includes full-time Federal service in the National Guard or a Reserve component.
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Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) provides benefits to workers who lose their jobs, or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as a result of increased imports, or whose jobs were exported offshore ("trade-affected workers"). The TAA benefits include a variety of reemployment services designed to help trade-affected workers prepare for and obtain suitable employment.
Workers may be eligible for training, a job search allowance, a relocation allowance, health coverage tax credit, re-employment trade adjustment assistance ("wage insurance"), and other reemployment services.
Additionally, weekly Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) may be payable to eligible workers following the exhaustion of unemployment benefits. Usually, TRA will be paid only to individuals enrolled in TAA-approved training.
The TAA Program is administered by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. The States serve as agents to the Labor Department in administering the TAA program. The eligibility process is initiated by the filing of a petition for determination that the company's lay offs were trade-affected. Once the investigation is concluded granting certification of the company, each individual worker must also apply for eligibility.
A petition must be filed both with the Office of the Colorado TRA Coordinator and the Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance to establish group eligibility to apply for TAA.
A petition should be filed if your employer is a private company that:
- has shifted or will shift production to a foreign country
- will import products made in a foreign country, or is already doing so
- is losing, or has lost sales to customers importing products or services from another country
- is losing or has lost business as a supplier, finisher, or assembler of products or components for a company that is already certified as trade-affected
- is a "value-added" producer or service provider to a trade certified company
Petitions may be filed by a company representative, a group of three or more workers, or a union official or other duly authorized worker representative. You can also get assistance from a TAA Counselor at a Colorado Workforce Center to obtain a petition and/or file it on the trade-affected workers’ behalf.
Filing the TAA petition on-line:
Filing on-line is recommended. Beyond convenience, filing on-line assures that no required information is omitted. It is recommended that you review “Frequently asked questions about on-line filing” before filing your petition.
Access the online TAA Petition now
Filing the TAA petition via Fax:
The manual TAA Petition form can be downloaded and either completed on-screen or printed and completed by hand. The information in the link below includes the TAA Petition and instructions for completing form and filing the Petition via FAX.Download the TAA petition form now
If you are unable to download a petition, you can get a copy at a Colorado Workforce Center, or contact the Colorado TRA Coordinator’s Office by phone: 303-318-8940, or e-mail: cdle_tra_program@state.co.us. Petitions can also be obtained from the Employment and Training Administration Website, or by correspondence:U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Office of Adult Services
Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance
200 Constitution Ave., N.W. , Room C-5311
Washington, D.C. 20210
Phone #: (202) 693-3564
OTAA Fax #: (202) 693-3584 or (202) 693-3585
Main OTAA Phone #: (202) 693-3560
File the Petition via FAX to:
•Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance: (202) 693-3585 and
•Colorado TAA Coordinator: TRA Coordinator: (303)318-8849 or attached to an eMail message to: cdle_tra_program@state.co.us.
When sending the petition to the TRA Coordinator via eMail, write TAA Petition on the subject Line. Upon receiving a petition, the Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance (OTAA) initiates an investigation tto determine whether foreign trade activity, including increased imports and shift of production to a foreign country, contributed significantly to decreased sales to worker separations in a particular company. If foreign trade is found to have contributed to layoffs by your employer, the OTAA certifies the affected group of workers as “eligible to apply for TAA.” The certification will contain an "Impact Date", which may be up to one year prior to the date of the certification. Workers who are separated on or after the impact date and who are covered by a certification are eligible to apply for TAA benefits. The period of the certification is 2 years from the date the layoff was certified. Workers who are separated within the period of certification are eligible to apply for individual TAA benefits.
You can check the status of your employer's petition at the Trade Act Determinations website.
Once the layoff has been certified, you should receive a letter from the Colorado TRA Coordinator. That letter will explain the various TAA benefits and how to apply for them. Whether or not you receive a letter, if you know your layoff is certified, contact the TAA counselor at your local Colorado Workforce Center to request a determination of your individual eligibility for Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA) and for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits. Your TAA counselor will submit your request for you. You will receive a "Determination of Entitlement to Trade Adjustment Assistance/ Trade Readjustment Allowance" by mail. Once you have received your determination, contact your local Colorado Workforce Center and make an appointment with a TAA Counselor who will help you determine what TAA re-employment services you may need. To be eligible for TAA benefits and reemployment services, you must:
To be considered part-time employed:
- your hours of work must be reduced to less than 80 percent of your average weekly hours, and
- your wages must be reduced to less than 80 percent of your average weekly wage.
To be eligible for TRA, you must have worked at least 26 weeks at your certified employer during the year prior to your separation. Even if you are not eligible to receive TRA, if you have a qualifying separation, you may be eligible to apply for other TAA Benefits.
If your TAA Counselor cannot locate suitable employment for you, retraining to acquire marketable skills may be an option.
Vocational training can be approved for up to 130 weeks of "in-classroom" time. The number of "calendar weeks" may be greater, since breaks in training are not counted. This limit includes remedial training that you may require prior to starting your vocational training. Your TAA Counselor will explain.
The cost of your training includes commuting costs if you must travel more than 50 miles from your home to your training provider. Although you may choose any school, only the cost of the training you choose that is offered by the least expensive training provider will be approved. This is important to know, because training can only be approved if none if the costs will be paid from personal funds, including student loans. Your TAA Counselor will explain.
If you accept employment located 50 or more miles from your current residence, the TAA Program will reimburse the cost to relocate your family and your household, to a new residence closer to your job (within the United States).
TRA, a weekly allowance payable after exhaustion of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, is 100% of the weekly benefit amount for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim that covers your separation from trade-affected employment. Your TRA will also be reduced by any earnings or other income you receive in the same way that your weekly unemployment benefits would have been reduced. To qualify for TRA you must:
In some cases, the training requirement can be waived. Your TAA Counselor will explain. If you do not qualify for TRA, you may still be eligible for reemployment services, including training, job search allowance and relocation allowance if you have a qualifying separation from adversely affected employment and have met certain timelines. Your TAA Counselor will explain.
If you elected to purchase health insurance on you own after losing your employer-paid coverage, you may use the HCTC to cover a substantial portion of your monthly health insurance premiums, or if you choose to pay your entire premium you may claim the HCTC benefit as a credit on your income tax return. For more information:
RTAA is a partial replacement of wages lost as the result of accepting employment paying less than the worker’s trade-affected wage.
You must establish individual eligibility to receive RTAA:
1. You must be at least 50 years of age when you became reemployed.
2. You must be employed within the RTAA eligibility period. If you did not receive TRA, this is the 2-year period following the date you started your new job, or, if earlier the date you exhausted UI. Ask your TAA Counselor for details.
Your new job must meet certain criteria:
1. Your new wage must be less than your last wage in trade-affected employment.
2. You must be expected to earn more than $55,000 in your first year of employment.
3. Your new job must not be with your trade-affected employer.
4. You must be employed full time (unless you are enrolled in TAA-approved training. Your TAA Counselor will explain)..
RTAA supplemental payments equal half the difference between your old trade-affected wage and your new wage. Those payments will continue until:
1. You have received your maximum RTAA benefit, or
2. Your RTAA eligibility has expired, or
3. It is determined you are expected to earn over $50,000 per year in regular pay, or
4. You become unemployed.
RTAA recipients may also qualify for HCTC; your TAA Counselor will explain.
RTAA recipients are not eligible to receive TRA.
For additional information on the TAA Program, who is served, how to apply, or how to qualify, write or call:
Jerry Smith: 303-318-8808Kelly Brown: 303-318-8824
E-mail: cdle_taa_web@state.co.usweb@state.co.us
David Barbour: 303-318-8940, 1-888-641-9106 (outside Denver Metro Area)E-mail: cdle_tra_program@state.co.us
