Displaced Employees Of Matrix Telecom In Atmore Possibly Eligible For Benefits

November 29, 2012

Current and former employees of Matrix Telecom’s customer service department in Atmore may be eligible for benefits under the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2011, according to an announcement from the Alabama Department of Labor.

A petition filed on behalf of Matrix Telecom was certified Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Labor.  The benefits are for current of former employees who were engaged in activities related to the supply of customer service call answering services for the long distance telecommunications firm.

The U. S. Department of Labor found that the workers may have become unemployed as a result of increased imports. The petition covers periods of unemployment occurring on or after October 5, 2011 and before the termination date of November 20, 2014. Under the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2011, displaced workers may be eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance benefits such as training, job search and relocation assistance, and Health Coverage Tax Credit.

If workers have exhausted their cash benefits under other state and federal unemployment compensation programs, they could be eligible for additional weekly benefits equivalent to the amount they were receiving under other programs. In order to receive Trade Readjustment Allowance  benefits, workers must be enrolled in training the later of 26 weeks after the certification date or after their last qualifying separation or a waiver of the training requirement must be granted by the state Employment Service Division of the Alabama Department of Labor.

Matrix Telecom, Inc., was also certified for Re-employment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA). Employees who are 50 years of age and older, who obtain full time employment after their separation from the affected employer, may be eligible for allowances under the RTAA program.

Surtees stated that potentially eligible individuals will be notified individually as soon as they are identified.

For additional information on the HCTC,  call toll free 866-628-HCTC (4282), or visit the IRS website at www.irs.gov (IRS Keyword: HCTC).

Comments

3 Responses to “Displaced Employees Of Matrix Telecom In Atmore Possibly Eligible For Benefits”

  1. previous employee on November 29th, 2012 10:33 am

    To James

    Yes the call center was outscourced to Columbia..Cheaper labor and no benefits

  2. 429SCJ on November 29th, 2012 9:21 am

    I pray these people are able to get back to work and soon.

    I recently learned that there are 1,000,000.+, homeless school kids in the US, the most ever recorded. Many are children of the working poor. Kids be considerate of the disadvantaged around you and sensitive of their condition and be thankful you are spared such a cup. To the children in difficulty I say, keep faith in the Lord as all conditions good or bad in this life, are fleeting in the face of eternity.

  3. James Broel on November 29th, 2012 8:02 am

    I remember Touch 1 back in the day…what happened did Matrix outsource its call center?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News