Rapid Response program staff can assist employers who are considering staff reductions help to reduce or eliminate those reductions. If layoffs are unavoidable, staff can provide services to the employer and workers being displaced. These services can help alleviate stress and provide technical guidance for the employer. The goal is to get displaced workers re-employed as quickly as possible and reduce the time spend on unemployment. At the invitation of an employer, staff will come out to an employer’s facility, meet with the employees, and explain how to find a new job, how to identify training resources, and how to file for unemployment benefits.
Rapid Response - Kansas Department of Commerce (kansascommerce.gov)
Contact: Crosby Branham, Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas
TAA is a federally funded program that helps workers who have lost their jobs as a result of foreign trade. For a worker to be eligible for this program, a TAA petition must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor for certification. The TAA petition may be filed by:
TAA petitions are investigated by the federal government to determine eligibility for certification. Once the petition has been certified by DOL, the laid-off workers may be eligible for a variety of benefits, including job training, income support, job search and relocation allowances, a tax credit to help pay the costs of health insurance, and a wage supplement to certain reemployed trade-affected workers 50 years of age and older.
Contact: Tonya Carlson, Kansas Department of Commerce
