Section 597-1-13 - ALTERNATIVE TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR OLDER WORKERS (ATAA)(applies to workers covered by TAA/ATAA petitions filed before May 18, 2009)
1.Applicability. This section applies to groups of workers certified by the United States Department of Labor as eligible to apply for ATAA pursuant to a TAA/ATAA petition filed before May 18, 2009 or numbered 80,000 - 80,999.2.Application and determination. An application for ATAA must be filed within two years of the first day of qualifying reemployment. The TAA coordinator will make a written determination regarding eligibility within 5 business days of receipt of the application. A worker has the right to appeal an adverse determination in accordance with the procedure established in Section 12, paragraphs 4-10. 3.Eligibility. To be eligible for ATAA an individual must, at the time of reemployment: A. Be a member of a group of workers certified to apply for ATAA under the Trade Act.B. Be at least 50 at the time of reemployment.C. Obtain reemployment by the last day of the 26th week after the worker's qualifying separation from the TAA/ATAA certified employment.D. Be expected to earn no more than $50,000 annually in gross wages (excluding overtime pay) from the reemployment.E. Be reemployed not less than 35 hours per week in one or more jobs, which may include self-employment.F. Cannot return to work at the employment from which the individual was separated. This means the worker cannot return to the same division or facility from which he or she was separated, nor can the worker return to do the same or similar work for the employer that he or she was separated from in another division or facility.4.Eligibility period. An individual who continues to meet the eligibility criteria will continue to be paid ATAA benefits until a total of $10,000 in benefits has been received or until two years have elapsed since the individual's first qualifying employment, whichever occurs first. ATAA benefits are not payable during weeks of unemployment. If the individual has a week or more of unemployment and becomes reemployed during the period of eligibility, he or she may complete a new application for ATAA upon being reemployed to determine whether they continue to meet the eligibility criteria.5.Benefit. The ATAA benefit is equal to 50% of the difference between the annualized wages at separation that the individual earned from the qualifying employment and the annualized wages earned in the new employment that the worker has obtained paid for two years or until $10,000 is paid, whichever occurs first. Annualized wages at separation are computed by multiplying by 52 the individual's hourly rate received during the last full week of work times the number of hours worked during the last full week of work. Annualized wages earned in new employment are calculated using the same method with respect to the first full week of reemployment. These calculations exclude overtime wages and hours. If, during the worker's period of eligibility it is determined as a result of a review that the annualized wages at new employment have changed, the benefit will be adjusted accordingly.6.Ineligibility for TRA and TAA. Individuals who choose to receive ATAA benefits as a result of a certification may not also receive TRA or TAA benefits for that certification.12- 597 C.M.R. ch. 1, § 13