[Federal Register: December 6, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 233)]
[Notices]
[Page 72658]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06de05-62]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
[TA-W-57,938]
OAG Worldwide, Inc., Custom Products Department, Downers Grove,
IL; Notice of Negative Determination Regarding Application for
Reconsideration
By application dated October 19, 2005 a petitioner requested
administrative reconsideration of the Department's negative
determination regarding eligibility for workers and former workers of
the subject firm to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). The
denial notice applicable to workers of OAG Worldwide, Inc., Custom
Products Department, Downers Grove, Illinois was signed on October 4,
2005, and published in the Federal Register on November 4, 2005 (70 FR
67196).
Pursuant to 29 CFR 90.18(c) reconsideration may be granted under
the following circumstances:
(1) If it appears on the basis of facts not previously considered
that the determination complained of was erroneous;
(2) If it appears that the determination complained of was based on
a mistake in the determination of facts not previously considered; or
(3) If in the opinion of the Certifying Officer, a
misinterpretation of facts or of the law justified reconsideration of
the decision.
The TAA petition filed on behalf of workers at OAG Worldwide, Inc.,
Custom Products Department, Downers Grove, Illinois were engaged in
running database queries of airline schedules to provide customized
information for customers worldwide was denied because the petitioning
workers did not produce an article within the meaning of section 222 of
the Act.
The petitioner contends that the Department erred in its
interpretation of work performed at the subject facility as a service
and further conveys that workers of the subject firm ``assemble custom
software products and work closely with the IT teams in the United
States to assemble the products''.
A company official was contacted for clarification in regard to the
nature of the work performed at the subject facility. The official
stated that the role of the petitioning group of workers at the subject
firm is providing airline schedules and other data to customers
worldwide. In particular, workers of the subject firm query the OAG
database, compile and audit information and create data files. These
data files are further delivered to customers in electronic format. The
official further clarified that this query is a programming process
written by the information technology staff of the subject firm was for
the internal use. The official supported the information previously
provided by the subject firm that databases and software created at the
subject facility are not mass-produced on any media device by the
subject firm for further duplication and distribution to customers and
that there are no products manufactured within the subject firm.
The sophistication of the work involved is not an issue in
ascertaining whether the petitioning workers are eligible for trade
adjustment assistance, but whether they produce an article within the
meaning of section 222 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Querying the databases and compiling electronic information is not
considered production of an article within the meaning of section 222
of the Trade Act. Petitioning workers do not produce an ``article''
within the meaning of the Trade Act of 1974. Information electronic
databases are not tangible commodities, and they are not listed on the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), as classified by
the United States International Trade Commission (USITC), Office of
Tariff Affairs and Trade Agreements, which describes articles imported
to the United States.
To be listed in the HTS, an article would be subject to a duty on
the tariff schedule and have a value that makes it marketable, fungible
and interchangeable for commercial purposes. Although a wide variety of
tangible products are described as articles and characterized as
dutiable in the HTS, informational products that could historically be
sent in letter form and that can currently be electronically
transmitted are not listed in the HTS. Such products are not the type
of products that customs officials inspect and that the TAA program was
generally designed to address.
The investigation on reconsideration supported the findings of the
primary investigation that the petitioning group of workers does not
produce an article. Furthermore, workers of the subject firm did not
support production of an article at any affiliated facility.
The petitioner further alleges that because workers lost their jobs
due to a transfer of job functions to the United Kingdom, petitioning
workers should be considered import impacted.
The company official stated that creation of the customer data
files was transferred from the subject facility to the United Kingdom.
Compiling and creating databases which contain informational
documentation and are electronically transmitted is not considered
production within the context of TAA eligibility requirements.
Service workers can be certified only if worker separations are
caused by a reduced demand for their services from a parent or
controlling firm or subdivision whose workers produce an article
domestically who meet the eligibility requirements, or if the group of
workers are leased workers who perform their duties on-site at a
facility that meet the eligibility requirements.
Conclusion
After review of the application and investigative findings, I
conclude that there has been no error or misinterpretation of the law
or of the facts which would justify reconsideration of the Department
of Labor's prior decision. Accordingly, the application is denied.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 25th day of November, 2005.
Elliott S. Kushner,
Certifying Officer, Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
[FR Doc. E5-6882 Filed 12-5-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P