DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-75,270

STERLING LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM MANPOWER
BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

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 February 14, 2011 by a one-state workforce office on
behalf of workers of Sterling Life Insurance Company,
Bellingham, Washington (Sterling Life). The workers are engaged
in activities related to the supply of health insurance packages
primarily to Medicare beneficiaries.
The worker group also comprises of on-site leased workers
from Manpower.
The petitioner alleged that worker separations were
attributed to services being outsourced to a foreign country.
With respect to Section 222(a) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that workers of Sterling Life who are
engaged in activities related to the supply of health insurance
packages do not meet the criteria for certification.
Criterion III has not been met.
Sterling Life did not shift the supply of health insurance
packages abroad, import the supply of health insurance packages,
or acquire the supply of health insurance packages from foreign
suppliers during the scope of the investigation. As for workers
engaged in activities related to the supply of information
technology services, Criterion I and (1) was not met. A
significant number or proportion of the workers within the
workers' firm was not totally or partially separated or
threatened with partial or total separations. Within the 12-
month period prior to the petition date, only 1 worker was
separated with no plans of future separations from Sterling
Life. Although Sterling Life did contract out information
technology programming services to a foreign country, this did
not result in sufficient job losses. In fact, the employment
count for that subset group increased with no threats of total
or partial worker separations.
The Department did not survey Sterling Life's customers
based on the nature of the service. Sales losses primarily
occurred because of changes to federal laws.
With respect to Section 222(c) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that workers of Sterling Life who are
engaged in activities related to the supply of health
insurance packages do not meet the criteria for secondary
worker certification.
Criterion (2) has not been met.
Sterling Life is not a Supplier or Downstream Producer to a
firm that employed a group of workers who received a
certification of eligibility under the Tract Act. The
petitioner provided the name of a competitor whose workers were
certified eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance
(TAA). The investigation revealed that Sterling Life does not
qualify as a Supplier defined as a firm that produces and
supplies directly to another firm component parts for articles,
or services, used in the production of articles or in the supply
of services, as the case may be, that were the basis for a
certification of eligibility under subsection (a) of a group of
workers employed by such other firm." The competitive provided
can not be considered as a customer of Sterling Life.
Furthermore, a Downstream Producer is defined as a firm that
performs additional, value-added production processes or
services directly for another firm for articles or services with
respect to which a group of workers in such other firm has been
certified under subsection (a). Additionally, as defined this
is not the case with the competitive identified by the
petitioner.
Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section
222(f) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(f), have not been satisfied
because Sterling Life has not been publicly identified by name
by the International Trade Commission as a member of a domestic
industry in an investigation resulting in an affirmative
determination.
Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that all workers of Sterling Life
Insurance Company, Bellingham, Washington, including on-site
leased workers from Manpower, engaged in activities related to
the supply of health insurance packages 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 6th day of May, 2011



/s/Elliott S. Kushner_____________
ELLIOTT S. KUSHNER
Certifying Officer, Office of
Trade Adjustment Assistance