SUMMARY

This bill requires the Department of Labor to make eligibility determinations for workers who apply to participate in training assistance under the United States Trade Act of 1974 within 20 days of the date of the worker's application, except for cases in which an educational institution or training program requires the determination to be made in a shorter period of time, in which case this bill requires the Department of Labor to make the eligibility determination on an expedited basis that meets the shorter time requirement.

This bill also makes an exception to the provision that denies dislocated worker benefits to a person who has received benefits under the United States Trade Act of 1974 if the person was unable to enroll in training after certification because of a continuing part-time attachment to the affected employer. In this situation, this bill allows the worker to receive dislocated worker benefits after the worker has exhausted any other unemployment benefit and trade readjustment allowances under the United States Trade Act of 1974 for which the worker is eligible. This worker is eligible to receive dislocated worker benefits for the number of weeks necessary, in combination with other weeks for which the worker participated in approved training and received weekly cash assistance for any program under the unemployment provisions, to enable the worker to participate in 104 weeks of training, but no more than 26 weeks of those weeks may be dislocated worker benefits.