Labor Certification More Timely

We found that the timeliness of the certification process has improved. 1). State Role Ensures Intervention

We found that the states’ role in the certification process ensures intervention in the form of rapid response services for workers filing a NAFTA-TAA petition. All dislocated workers are eligible for EDWAA services regardless of the reason for the dislocation. The state officials believed that accessing these benefits might be difficult because of limited guidance from Labor, unclear authority, and a slow and cumbersome funding mechanism. For example, they told us that Labor has not provided regulations that clearly define secondary workers. Benefits More Closely Tied to Training, but Restrictions Hamper Tailoring

The NAFTA-TAA law more closely tied income benefits to adjustment assistance by eliminating waivers and requiring participants to enroll in training. While linking cash benefits to training helps to ensure that workers get the assistance needed, especially with delays in notification, NAFTA-TAA restrictions have resulted in some participants receiving incomplete assessments and remedial assistance, and a limited mix of services. Like TAA, the NAFTA-TAA program does not require ongoing support, follow-up, or a system to monitor performance. Scope and Methodology

To determine whether Labor made the changes needed to provide services to NAFTA-affected workers, we interviewed officials from the Department of Labor’s Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance regarding the implementation of the NAFTA-TAA program and analyzed nationwide petition data collected by Labor. I.1).
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Labor's efforts to provide services to workers affected by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), focusing on: (1) shortening the time frame for certification; (2) including states in the certification process; (3) broadening eligibility requirements; and (4) tying income support more closely to retraining and eliminating waivers.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) Labor has shortened its certification process for the NAFTA Transitional Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program, resulting in 94 percent of NAFTA-TAA determinations being made in 40 days or less; (2) the states' added role in the NAFTA-TAA certification process has ensured rapid response services for dislocated workers; (3) although Labor has broadened the NAFTA-TAA eligibility requirements to include secondary workers, limited guidance, unclear authority, and a slow and cumbersome funding mechanism make it difficult for such workers to access benefits; (4) while Labor has more closely tied cash benefits to training by eliminating waivers and requiring workers to enroll in training, these restrictions have resulted in some workers receiving incomplete assessments and remedial assistance, and a limited mix of services; (5) Labor has not adequately addressed the lack of ongoing support, follow-up, and performance monitoring for NAFTA-TAA; and (6) while Labor has encouraged closer coordination between federal dislocated worker programs, it has not formally required states to track NAFTA-TAA participants.