Section 597-1-1 - DEFINITIONS1. For the purposes of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program, the following definitions apply: A.Adequate Financial Resources means the financial capacity of an individual to support himself or herself while in training and if the approved training will continue beyond the exhaustion of all monetary allowances payable under the Trade Act Program.B.Adversely affected incumbent worker means a worker who is a member of a group of workers who have been certified as eligible to apply for TAA based upon a TAA petition filed on or after May 18, 2009, who has not been totally or partially separated from adversely affected employment, and who is threatened with total or partial separation as documented by a notice of termination or layoff or other reliable documentation of the threat of total or partial separation.C.Average Weekly Wage means one-thirteenth of the total wages paid to an individual in the individual's high quarter. The high quarter for an individual is the quarter in which the total wages paid to the individual were highest among the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters preceding the individual's appropriate week.D.Certification means a certification of eligibility to apply for TAA issued under the Trade Act with respect to a specified group of workers of a firm or appropriate subdivision of a firm.E.Commuting Area means the area in which an individual would be expected to travel to and from work on a daily basis as determined under the applicable state law. Commuting area is defined as a 50-mile radius from the trade affected individual's place of residence. This definition does not apply to transportation payments.F.Customized Training means training that is (1) designed to meet the special requirements of an employer or group of employers; (2) conducted with a commitment by the employer or group of employers to employ an individual upon successful completion of the training; and (3) for which the employer pays for a significant portion (but in no case less than 50 percent) of the cost of such training.G.Individual Services Strategy means an ongoing strategy jointly developed by the individual and the CareerCenter Case Manager that identifies the individual's employment goals, the appropriate achievement objectives, and the appropriate combination of services for the individual to achieve the employment goals.H.Reasonable Expectation of Employment means that, given the job market conditions expected to exist at the time of the completion of the training program, there is, fairly and objectively considered, a reasonable expectation that the individual will find a job, using the skills and education acquired while in training, after completion of the training.I.Suitable Employment means work of substantially equal or higher skill level than the individual's past adversely affected employment, and wages for such work at not less that 80 percent of the individual's average weekly wage. Suitable work does not in any case include self-employment .J.Supportive Services include school supplies, mileage assistance, subsistence payments, and training costs which are necessary to complete training and required of all students enrolled in a training program such as tools, medical insurance, immunizations, physicals and uniforms. Services such as childcare, car repairs, car insurance, car registration, eyeglasses and eye exams, housing maintenance, food, clothing, dental assistance and state licensing are not funded under the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. These may be supported through other community resources or federal grants.
K.Training-Related Costs includes tuition, books, tools, academic fees, travel or transportation expenses and subsistence expenses. All other expenses to be included in this must meet the following criteria: (1) The item must be necessary for the trainee to undertake and complete the program under consideration; and(2) The item must be required for all students to participate in the proposed program.L.Unforeseen Need means a circumstance that is beyond the individual's or training provider's control that prevents the completion of the Individual Service Strategy. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, the closing of a training facility or the individual's inability to complete training due to physical or mental capabilities unknown at the time of plan development.M.Wages means all compensation for employment for an employer, including commissions, bonuses, and the cash value of all compensation in a medium other than cash (including health benefits and retirement benefits).12- 597 C.M.R. ch. 1, § 1