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Contact: John Carpenter Public Information Officer (405) 557-5469 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 2, 2004 | ||
FORMER
ZAPATA INDUSTRIES EMPLOYEES Expired Benefits Returned to Former Company Employees Under Trade Act of 1974 |
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OKLAHOMA
CITY, OK – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission announced today that
displaced workers from the Muskogee facility
of Zapata Industries, Inc. are eligible to receive assistance. The U.S.
Department of Labor has ruled that former
employees of the Muskogee, Okla. company 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 Zapata Industries, Inc., Muskogee, Oklahoma, who became totally or partially separated from employment on or after October 2, 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 November 4, 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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