OKLAHOMA
CITY, OK – The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission announced today that
displaced workers from the Poteau facility of Johnson Controls, Inc. are
eligible to receive financial help. The U.S. Department of Labor has ruled that
former employees of the Poteau plant meet requirements to receive trade
adjustment assistance according to the Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC 2273) as
amended by the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-418).
Under Section 223 of the legislation, workers qualify for adjustment assistance
if three criteria are met: 1) workers 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. Trade adjustment assistance is
available to individuals who become unemployed as a result of increased imports
or a shift in production. The goal is to help laid off workers return to
suitable employment as quickly as possible.
The
report concludes that “all workers of Johnson Controls, Inc., Controls Group,
Poteau Facility, Poteau, Oklahoma, who became totally or partially separated
from employment on or after November 9, 1999 through two years from the date of
certification, are eligible to apply for adjustment assistance…” The first
day of eligibility is January 13, 2001. Separated employees who would like to
take advantage of this assistance should contact their nearest Workforce
Oklahoma Local Office at 1-888-840-WORK (9675).
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