Denied
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TAW-95899A  /  Art Van Furniture, LLC (Working In Multiple Cities Throughout Missouri, MO)

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-95,899

ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT MIGHIGAN

TA-W-95,899A

ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT MISSOURI

TA-W-95,899B

ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

O'FALLON, ILLINOIS

TA-W-95,899C

PURE SLEEP FRANCHISING, LLC

A SUBSIDIARY OF ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT MICHIGAN

TA-W-95,899D

PURE SLEEP FRANCHISING, LLC

A SUBSIDIARY OF ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT ILLINOIS

TA-W-95,899E

PURE SLEEP FRANCHISING, LLC

A SUBSIDIARY OF ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT OHIO

TA-W-95,899F

SCOTT SHUPTRINE INTERIORS

A SUBSIDIARY OF ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT MICHIGAN

TA-W-95,899G

WOLF FURNITURE

A SUBSIDIARY OF ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT MARYLAND

TA-W-95,899H

WOLF FURNITURE

A SUBSIDIARY OF ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA

TA-W-95,899I

LEVIN FURNITURE

A SUBSIDIARY OF ART VAN FURNITURE, LLC

WORKING IN MULTIPLE CITIES THROUGHOUT OHIO

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), (b) or
(e) of Section 222 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), (b) and (e).
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
criteria must be met:

(1) The first criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(1) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(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; AND

(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.

For the Department to issue a 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.

Section 222(c) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(c), defines the
terms "Supplier" and "Downstream Producer."

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), the 1-year
period preceding the 1-year period described in
paragraph (2).

The investigation was initiated in response to a petition
filed on April 24, 2020, by the State of Michigan on behalf of
former workers of Art Van Furniture, LLC, working in multiple
cities throughout Michigan (TA-W-95,899), Art Van Furniture, LLC,
working in multiple cities throughout Missouri (TA-W-95,899A), Art
Van Furniture, LLC, O'Fallon, Illinois (TA-W-95,899B), Pure Sleep
Franchising, LLC, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture, LLC, working
in multiple cities throughout Michigan (TA-W-95,899C), Pure Sleep
Franchising, LLC, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture, LLC working
in multiple cities throughout Illinois (TA-W-95,899D), Pure Sleep
Franchising, LLC, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture, LLC, working
in multiple cities throughout Ohio (TA-W-95,899E), Scott Shuptrine
Interiors, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture, LLC, working in
multiple cities throughout Michigan (TA-W-95,899F), Wolf
Furniture, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture, LLC, working in
multiple cities throughout Maryland (TA-W-95,899G), Wolf
Furniture, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture, LLC, Leesburg,
Virginia (TA-W-95,899H), Levin Furniture, a subsidiary of Art Van
Furniture, LLC, working in multiple cities throughout Ohio (TA-W-
95,899I)(hereafter referred to collectively as "Art Van"). Art
Van is engaged in activities related to the supply of furniture
and mattresses retail services. On April 6, 2020, the workers'
firm filed for bankruptcy. The Department has determined that
there is no successor-in-interest firm.

During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the petition, the appointed Bankruptcy Trustee,
and public sources. Because Art Van customers are individual
members of the public, the Department did not conduct a customer
survey but conducted an industry analysis, which included
current purchasing trends and aggregate import data.

With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that Art Van did not import services like
or directly competitive with the retail services supplied by the
subject workers.

With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that Art Van did not shift the supply of
retail services, or a like or directly competitive service, to a
foreign country or acquire the supply of such services from a
foreign country.

With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that Art Van is not 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).

Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section
222(e) of the Act, have not been satisfied because Criterion (1)
has not been met since Art Van 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 Art Van Furniture, LLC,
working in multiple cities throughout Michigan (TA-W-95,899), Art
Van Furniture, LLC, working in multiple cities throughout Missouri
(TA-W-95,899A), Art Van Furniture, LLC, O'Fallon, Illinois (TA-W-
95,899B), Pure Sleep Franchising, LLC, a subsidiary of Art Van
Furniture, LLC, working in multiple cities throughout Michigan
(TA-W-95,899C), Pure Sleep Franchising, LLC, a subsidiary of Art
Van Furniture, LLC working in multiple cities throughout Illinois

(TA-W-95,899D), Pure Sleep Franchising, LLC, a subsidiary of Art
Van Furniture, LLC, working in multiple cities throughout Ohio
(TA-W-95,899E), Scott Shuptrine Interiors, a subsidiary of Art Van
Furniture, LLC, working in multiple cities throughout Michigan
(TA-W-95,899F), Wolf Furniture, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture,
LLC, working in multiple cities throughout Maryland (TA-W-
95,899G), Wolf Furniture, a subsidiary of Art Van Furniture, LLC,
Leesburg, Virginia (TA-W-95,899H), Levin Furniture, a subsidiary
of Art Van Furniture, LLC, working in multiple cities throughout
Ohio (TA-W-95,899I), to apply for adjustment assistance, in
accordance with Section 223 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2273.

Signed in Washington, D.C. this 7th day of February, 2021



/s/ Del-Min Amy Chen
_______________________
DEL-MIN AMY CHEN

Certifying Officer, Office of

Trade Adjustment Assistance