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Contact: John Carpenter Public Information Officer (405) 557-5469 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 21, 2004 | ||
FORMER
HART TACKLE COMPANY EMPLOYEES OKLAHOMA
CITY, OK – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission announced today that
displaced workers of
Hart Tackle Company, LLC in Stratford, 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 Hart Tackle Company, LLC, Stratford, Okla.,
who became totally or partially separated from employment on or after August 22,
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.” It was
further determined that “all workers of Hart Tackle Company, LLC, Stratford,
Okla., are denied eligibility 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 17, 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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