DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-71,390

WHITLEY'S CLOTHING, INC.
D/B/A WHITLEY APPAREL COMPANY
DOVER, NORTH CAROLINA

Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility
To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended ("Act"), 19 U.S.C. § 2273, the Department of Labor herein
presents the results of an investigation regarding certification of
eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance.
Workers of a firm may be eligible for worker adjustment
assistance if they satisfy the criteria of subsection (a), (c) or (f)
of Section 222 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), (c), (f). For the
Department of Labor to issue a certification for workers under
Section 222(a) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), the following three
criteria must be met:
I. The first criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(1) of the Act,
19 U.S.C. § 2282(a)(1)) requires that a significant number or
proportion of the workers in the workers' firm must have become
totally or partially separated or be threatened with total or
partial separation.

II. The second criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(2) of the Act,
19 U.S.C. § 2272(a)(2)) may be satisfied in one of two ways:
(A) Increased Imports Path:
(i) sales or production, or both, at the workers' firm must
have decreased absolutely, AND

(ii) (I) imports of articles or services like or directly
competitive with articles or services produced or
supplied by the workers' firm have increased, OR
(II)(aa) imports of articles like or directly competitive
with articles into which the component part produced
by the workers' firm was directly incorporated have
increased; OR
(II)(bb) imports of articles like or directly competitive
with articles which are produced directly using the
services supplied by the workers' firm have increased;
OR
(III) imports of articles directly incorporating component
parts not produced in the U.S. that are like or
directly competitive with the article into which the
component part produced by the workers' firm was
directly incorporated have increased.

(B) Shift in Production or Supply Path:
(i)(I) there has been a shift by the workers' firm to a
foreign country in the production of articles or supply of
services like or directly competitive with those
produced/supplied by the workers' firm; OR
(i)(II) there has been an acquisition from a foreign country
by the workers' firm of articles/services that are like or
directly competitive with those produced/supplied by the
workers' firm.

III. The third criterion requires that the increase in imports or
shift/acquisition must have contributed importantly to the
workers' separation or threat of separation. See Sections
222(a)(2)(A)(iii) and 222(a)(2)(B)(ii) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. §§
2272(a)(2)(A)(iii), 2272(a)(2)(B)(ii).

Section 222(d) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(d), defines the
terms "Supplier" and "Downstream Producer". For the Department to
issue a secondary worker certification under Section 222(c) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(c), to workers of a Supplier or a Downstream
Producer, the following criteria must be met:
(1) a significant number or proportion of the workers in the
workers' firm or an appropriate subdivision of the firm
have become totally or partially separated, or are
threatened to become totally or partially separated;

(2) the workers' firm is a Supplier or Downstream Producer to a
firm that employed a group of workers who received a
certification of eligibility under Section 222(a) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), and such supply or production is
related to the article or service that was the basis for
such certification; and

(3) either
(A) the workers' firm is a supplier and the component parts it
supplied to the firm described in paragraph (2) accounted
for at least 20 percent of the production or sales of the
workers' firm; or
(B) a loss of business by the workers' firm with the firm
described in paragraph (2) contributed importantly to the
workers' separation or threat of separation.

Workers of a firm may also be considered eligible if they are
publicly identified by name by the International Trade Commission as
a member of a domestic industry in an investigation resulting in a
category of determination that is listed in Section 222(f) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(f).
The group eligibility requirements for workers of a firm under
Section 222(f) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(f), can be satisfied if
the following criteria are met:
(1) the workers' firm is publicly identified by name by the
International Trade Commission as a member of a domestic
industry in an investigation resulting in--
(A) an affirmative determination of serious injury or
threat thereof under section 202(b)(1);
(B) an affirmative determination of market disruption or
threat thereof under section 421(b)(1); or
(C) an affirmative final determination of material injury
or threat thereof under section 705(b)(1)(A) or
735(b)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1671d(b)(1)(A) and 1673d(b)(1)(A));
(2) the petition is filed during the 1-year period beginning on
the date on which--
(A) a summary of the report submitted to the President by
the International Trade Commission under section
202(f)(1) with respect to the affirmative
determination described in paragraph (1)(A) is
published in the Federal Register under section
202(f)(3); or

(B) notice of an affirmative determination described in
subparagraph (1) is published in the Federal Register;
and
(3) the workers have become totally or partially
separated from the workers' firm within--
(A) the 1-year period described in paragraph (2); or
(B) notwithstanding section 223(b)(1), the 1-year
period preceding the 1-year period described in
paragraph (2).

The investigation was initiated in response to a petition filed
on June 23, 2009, by a company official on behalf of workers of
Whitley's Clothing, Inc., d/b/a Whitley Apparel Company, Dover, North
Carolina. The workers produce men's, women's and children's knit
tops and bottoms.
The petitioner alleges that customers of the subject firm
shifted production to Mexico, which resulted in the closure of the
subject firm.
With respect to Section 222(a) and Section 222(c) of the Act,
the investigation revealed that Criterion I and Criterion (1),
respectively, have not been met because neither a significant number
nor proportion of workers at Whitley's Clothing, Inc., d/b/a Whitley
Apparel Company, Dover, North Carolina were totally or partially
separated or threatened with such separations during the relevant
period under investigation. The subject firm permanently closed on
December 31, 2007, which is outside the relevant period.
Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section 222(f)
of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(f), have not been satisfied because the
workers' firm has not been identified in an affirmative finding of
injury by the International Trade Commission.










Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the investigation,
I determine that workers of at Whitley's Clothing, Inc., d/b/a
Whitley Apparel Company, Dover, North Carolina , who produce men's,
women's and children's knit tops and bottoms , are denied
eligibility to apply for adjustment assistance under Section 223 of
the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2273.
Signed in Washington, D.C., this 25th day of March, 2010


/s/Elliott S. Kushner
______________________________
ELLIOTT S. KUSHNER
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance