Trade Readjustment Allowance Benefits

Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) benefits are similar to regular unemployment benefits. You must apply for and exhaust regular unemployment benefits before applying for TRA benefits. If eligible for TRA benefits, you may request them only after you receive all of your regular unemployment insurance benefits in a benefit year. To be eligible for TRA benefits, you must be participating in Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) approved training.

Depending on the petition number of your trade program, as described below, claimants may receive up to several years of combined regular unemployment and TRA benefits. Trade Readjustment Allowance benefits vary depending on past wages and other requirements.

There are four types of TRA benefits:

• Basic
• Additional
• Remedial/Prerequisite
• Completion

We pay Basic TRA benefits when your regular unemployment benefits end. You can receive up to 52 weeks of combined regular and basic TRA benefits. You have two years (104 weeks) after separating from a trade-affected employer to use basic TRA benefits and receive payment, if you are eligible.

Eligibility

To qualify for Trade Readjustment Allowance benefits you must have applied for TAA-approved training within specific deadlines.

• For petitions numbered 70,000 or higher, you apply for TAA-approved training or have a waiver of the training requirement within 26 weeks of your separation from a trade-affected employer or the date the petition is certified (the date the employer was certified as trade-affected), or
• Prior to your waiver / in-training deadline date, your career counselor gives you a form that temporarily exempts you from training for a specific qualifying reason.

To qualify for basic Trade Readjustment Allowance benefits, you must meet one of the following criteria:

• Be enrolled in Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) approved training
• Be participating in TAA-approved training
• Have completed TAA-approved training and obtained a degree or certification 
• Have a written certification waiving the training requirement

Eligibility

• Your petition is numbered 70,000 to 79,999.
• Your TAA-approved training included between one and 26 weeks of remedial or prerequisite education.
• You are still enrolled in TAA-approved training and attending classes.

Benefits

You may be eligible for additional weeks of benefits equal to the number of weeks you received remedial or prerequisite education, up to 26 weeks.

We pay for remedial or prerequisite weeks after you exhaust your Additional TRA benefits.

To receive TRA benefits, you must attend TAA training classes as scheduled. However, if your school has scheduled breaks for holidays or summer vacation that exceed 30 class days, TWC cannot pay you any level of trade benefits for the weeks covered by those 30 days. TWC can pay Basic and Additional TRA during breaks less than 30 days.

Your claim is confidential. However, we share some information with government agencies and their contractors for the administration and enforcement of laws, including verifying eligibility for public assistance, supporting law enforcement activities, and other purposes permitted by law. Allowable uses of confidential information may include performing statistical analysis, research and evaluation.

Disclosure may be made to entities that manage and evaluate programs such as Social Security, Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and child support. We mail a notice of your claim to your last employer and may communicate with other former employers. If we pay you benefits by debit card, we share information with U.S Bank because it manages your debit-card account. U.S. Bank and government agencies with access to information must agree to comply with state and federal laws regarding the confidentiality of claim information.