TAA Newsletter- January/February 2017
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Coordinator’s Corner
- TAA Benefit Application Submission
- Returning to the Trade-Impacted Employer
- Updated TAA Form and Application Glitches
- Federal Mileage 2017
- Rescheduled Webinar
Coordinator's Corner
In the words of poet Rainier Maria Rilke, “…now we welcome
the New Year, full of things that have never been.” It’s exciting to look
ahead and imagine what lies ahead of us, such as our Joint Counselor Training
(JCT) event in May of this year, and the work we will do together to improve
the lives of hundreds (if not thousands) of trade-affected workers looking for
future employment. Preparation for the JCT event is well underway!
Look for the upcoming JCT call for proposals in the next week or two. The
event will take place either May 10-11th or 17-18th, at a
yet to-be-determined location. I would welcome you and your organization
to submit a proposal, and share your organization’s best practices,
innovations, and success with serving diverse participants during the past
year! On average, approximately 600 workforce development partners and
staff attend the JCT.
A new year is a great time to set goals, and to update
policy processes. This month we’ve made a substantial change to two Trade
Adjustment Assistance (TAA) policies impacting participants in training—the
Computer and High Technology policy and the Tool and Supply policy. In
the past, if a TAA-approved participant in training did not successfully
complete their program, they would return any tools, supplies, or
high-technology items purchased by TAA on their behalf. As of 1/17/17,
participants who are not successful will now be able to keep any required items
purchased by TAA for their training programs.
In the Computers and High Technology tools policy, we
updated the threshold whereby an additional quote is required if the item is
$750 or more. The Tools and Supplies Policy has been updated to reflect
that only 1 quote is needed (not including computers or high-technology items) and
that Administrative and Financial Services will be utilized to assist with
obtaining quotes from contract vendors for large lists of supplies and tools to
align with current DEED policy and practice for purchases.
Thanks again for all the work you do to assist laid-off
Minnesotans to become re-employed!
Deb
TAA Benefit Application Submission
TAA has a new process for application submission. We are
asking that DW Counselors scan and attach applications to an email and send to
the general TAA email at deed.taa@state.mn.us.
Once received, DW Counselors and clients will be notified by email that TAA has
received and which TAA Specialist has been assigned the application.
Returning to the Trade-Impacted Employer - (refresher)
There are three options for any TAA eligible worker who has
applied for TAA training, and received a call-back request:
- The worker can remain in training and turn down
the call-back opportunity if he or she is within 30 days of the training
start date, or if he or she has already started TAA-approved
training.
- The worker can remain in training and accept
the call-back opportunity. Worker will not have to be in full time training
but will still have to observe the TAA timeline for actual training weeks.
-
The
worker can accept the call-back position, and cease training. If the
worker is separated from employment in the future, he or she can contact the
TAA unit for a case review to finish the previously approved training plan.
Updated TAA Form and Application Glitches
TAA has been working on updating
applications to make sure they reflect 2015 law, are interactive without
glitches and are accessible to anyone who is sight impaired per federal
regulation. TAA is currently working through some glitches that occurred when forms
were subjected to the JAWS software and failed. TAA is reviewing and redoing
those applications. We will also address missing information and form
malfunction as well.
Federal Mileage 2017
The new federal mileage rate of $.535 became effective January
1, 2017. TAA Specialists are reviewing transportation subsistence
contracts and updating amounts to be reimbursed for those receiving the federal
mileage rate vs. per diem.
Rescheduled Webinar
TAA has rescheduled the webinar that was listed in our last
newsletter. TAA will host a 30-60 minute conference call Wednesday, February 22nd
at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the 2015 TAA law along with policy changes from the
last year and staffing changes. Join us at 1-888-742-5095, with conference code
2941450048. TAA will send out information that will be covered prior to the
conference call in an email blast.
We strive for the information in this newsletter to be relevant
and useful, and we encourage you to provide feedback and suggestions for future
TAA Topics or TAA Success Stories. To contact the TAA team regarding this
newsletter, please e-mail: cynthia.boyle@state.mn.us and type “TAA
Newsletter” in the subject line.
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