Summary: Many Americans who lose their jobs to foreign competition never receive the retraining and other help that is due them in making the transition to new employment because the Labor Department's process in certifying their eligibility for assistance is flawed. To be eligible for the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which helps workers find new employment through job counseling, retraining, and placement assistance, an individual must work in an industry affected by imports, as certified by the Department of Labor. Problems in the program's certification process raise questions about how Labor determines worker eligibility. Flaws in Labor's petition investigations and limited state aid to workers may lead to petitions' going unfiled or to erroneous decisions on whether to provide program assistance to workers. Although specific improvements in the certification process can be made, Labor's need to determine worker eligibility quickly makes it unclear how much improvement is realistic without changing the process. The President has proposed combining all dislocated worker programs into a single program delivering services to all such workers regardless of the reason for dislocation. This proposal would eliminate the need for certifying workers as affected by imports, but it may also cut the benefits available to workers now being served under the program.
