DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL

TA-W-82,757

BERNARD CHAUS, INC.
CYNTHIA STEFFE PRODUCT LINE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK

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
(Department) 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), (b)
or (e) of Section 222 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), (b) and
(e). For the Department 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:
(1) 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.

(2) 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.
(iii) the increase in imports described in clause (ii)
contributed importantly to such workers' separation or threat of
separation and to the decline in the sales or production of such
firm.

(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
(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;
and
(ii) the shift described in clause (i)(I) or the acquisition of
articles or services described in clause (i)(II) contributed
importantly to such workers' separation or threat of separation.

Section 222(c) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(c), defines the
terms "Supplier" and "Downstream Producer." For the Department
to issue a secondary worker certification under Section 222(b)
of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(b), 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(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e).
The group eligibility requirements for workers of a firm under
Section 222(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e), 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 May 22, 2013 by a workforce official on behalf of workers
of Bernard Chaus, Inc., Cynthia Steffe Product Line, New York,
New York (subject firm). The subject firm is engaged in activities
related to the production of women's apparel. The worker group
does not include any on-site leased workers.
The petitioner alleges that "the work of the organization was
shifted to China" and the separations took place July 2012.
During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the petitioner and the workers' firm.
With respect to Section 222(a) and Section 222(b) of the Act,
the investigation revealed that Criterion (1) has not been met
because the subject firm did not employ a worker group during the
relevant time period. A worker group means that the firm must have
at least three full-time workers during the year preceding the
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) petition date. The petition is
dated May 21, 2013. The investigation revealed that the subject
firm employed fewer than 3 full-time workers between May 21, 2012
and May 21, 2013. As such, the subject firm did not meet this
threshold level.
Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section
222(e) of the Act, have not been satisfied because the workers'
firm 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 finding of serious
injury, market disruption, or material injury, or threat thereof.
Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that the requirements of Section 222 of
the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272, have not been met and, therefore, deny
the petition for group eligibility of Bernard Chaus, Inc., Cynthia
Steffe Product Line, New York, New York, to apply for adjustment
assistance, in accordance with Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. §
2273.
Signed in Washington, D.C. this 25th day of June, 2013
/s/Del Min Amy Chen
______________________________
DEL MIN AMY CHEN
Certifying Officer, Office of
Trade Adjustment Assistance