[Federal Register: February 7, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 25)]
[Notices]
[Page 5750-5751]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07fe07-142]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
[TA-W-52,274]
Thomson, Inc., Circlesville Glass Operations, Circleville, OH;
Amended Certification Regarding Eligibility To Apply for Worker
Adjustment Assistance and Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance
In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2273), and Section 246 of the Trade Act of 1974 (26 U.S.C. 2813), as
amended, the Department of Labor issued a certification of eligibility
to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) on August 7, 2003,
applicable to workers and former workers of Thomson, Inc., Circleville
Glass Operations, Circleville, Ohio. The Department's Notice was
published in the Federal Register on September 2, 2003 (68 FR 52228).
The workers were engaged in the production of glass components of
picture tubes prior to the subject firm's closure in June 2004.
On March 8, 2005, the Department issued a certification of
eligibility for Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) covering
workers of the subject firm separated from employment on or after June
27, 2002 through August 7, 2005. The Department's Notice was published
in the Federal Register on April 1, 2005 (70 FR 16851).
Even though production activity ceased in June 2004, the State of
Ohio required the subject firm to submit within ninety days a cessation
of operations plan and to undertake an 18-month process for the
identification and remediation of any hazards left over from the
manufacturing process. At the time of the shutdown, the subject firm
retained fifteen employees (``shutdown workers'') solely for purposes
of the shutdown process.
The shutdown workers subsequently petitioned for TAA/ATAA benefits
(TA-W-59,118), referring to TA-W-52,274 for support. The Department
determined in TA-W-59,118 that the shutdown workers were ineligible for
benefits because there was no production at the subject facility during
the relevant
[[Page 5751]]
period. The petitioners appealed the Department's negative
determination to the U.S. Court of International Trade (Court No. 06-
00266). The Department subsequently obtained a voluntary remand for the
purpose of further review and a redetermination of the workers'
eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance.
During the ensuing remand process for TA-W-59,118, the Department
determined that there was a causal nexus between the subject firm's
shutdown of operations and the shutdown workers' separations and that,
therefore, the separations of the workers through December 31, 2006 are
attributable to the conditions specified in section 222 of the Trade
Act. The Department has further determined that, given the particular
facts presented, it is appropriate to amend the certification of the
immediate petition to include those workers involved in cessation of
operations activities who were separated after August 7, 2005.
The Department's decision in this case is limited to the precise
circumstances of this specific case and should not be considered as any
indication of how the Department would proceed in other cases or in any
subsequent rulemaking on this subject.
The amended notice applicable to TA-W-52,274 is hereby issued as
follows:
``All workers of Thomson, Inc., Circleville Glass Operations,
Circleville, Ohio (TA-W-52,274), who became totally or partially
separated from employment on or after June 27, 2002 through December
31, 2006, are eligible to apply for adjustment assistance under
Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974, and are also eligible to apply
for alternative trade adjustment assistance under Section 246 of the
Trade Act.''
Signed at Washington, DC, this 25th day of January 2007.
Linda G. Poole,
Certifying Officer, Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
[FR Doc. E7-1954 Filed 2-6-07; 8:45 am]
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