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Contact: John Carpenter Public Information Officer (405) 557-5469 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 20, 2004 | ||
FORMER
HILTI NORTH AMERICA EMPLOYEES OKLAHOMA
CITY, OK – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission announced today that
displaced workers of Hilti North America in Tulsa,
Okla., are eligible to receive assistance. The U.S. Department of Labor
has ruled that former employees of the facility meet
requirements to receive Trade Readjustment Assistance (TRA) according to the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC 2273). TRA is available to
individuals who become unemployed as a result of increased imports or a shift in
production out of the country. The goal is to help laid-off workers return to
suitable employment as quickly as possible. To
qualify for TRA, workers must meet three criteria: 1) they must be laid off or
threatened with layoff; 2) sales or production must have decreased; and 3)
increases in imports of products like or directly competitive
with products made by the firm must contribute to layoffs or the threat of
layoffs. An added condition is that workers must be enrolled in training either
eight (8) weeks after certification or 16 weeks after their last qualifying
separation from adversely affected employment. The state may also grant a waiver
of training enrollment to remove this qualification for some individuals. The
report concludes “all workers of Hilti North America, a division of Hilti
Corporation, Plant 5, Tulsa, Okla., who became totally or partially separated
from employment on or after August 26, 2002, through two years from the date of
certification, are eligible to apply for adjustment assistance under Section 223
of the Trade Act of 1974 and are also eligible for Alternative Trade Adjustment
Assistance (ATAA) under Section 246 of the Trade Act of 1974.” The first day
of eligibility (date of certification) for TRA is October 6, 2003. Separated
employees who would like to take advantage of this assistance should contact
their nearest Workforce Oklahoma Center at 1-888-980-WORK (9675). # # # |
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