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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR & ECONOMIC GROWTH, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AGENCY, Appellant, v TRACEY DYKSTRA, Claimant-Appellee.

FOR PUBLICATION April 7, 2009 9:00 a.m.

No. 280591 Kent Circuit Court LC No. 05-011956-AE

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR & ECONOMIC GROWTH, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE AGENCY, Appellant, v ROBERT D. JORDAN, Claimant-Appellee. No. 280592 Kent Circuit Court LC No. 05-009850-AE Advance Sheets Version

Before: Beckering, P.J., and Whitbeck and M. J. Kelly, JJ. M. J. KELLY, J. In these consolidated appeals, the Department of Labor and Economic Growth, Unemployment Insurance Agency (the Agency), appeals by leave granted the trial court orders affirming the decisions of the Employment Security Board of Review (the Board) granting federal trade readjustment allowance (TRA) benefits to claimants Tracey Dykstra and Robert Jordan under the Trade Act of 1974. See 19 USC 2101 et seq. On appeal, we must determine whether the time limits provided under 19 USC 2291(a)(5)(A)(ii) limit the period within which a claimant may obtain a waiver of the Trade Act's training requirement. See 19 USC 2291(a)(5)(C) and 19 USC 2291(c). We conclude that, under the statute's plain terms, the time limits provided under 19 USC 2291(a)(5)(A)(ii) do not apply to the waivers permitted by 19 USC 2291(a)(5)(C) and 19 USC 2291(c). Further, because the statute is not ambiguous, the

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Agency had to comply with its terms notwithstanding the contrary interpretation of the federal Department of Labor (the Department). Therefore, the trial courts did not err when they issued orders affirming the Board's decisions. For these reasons, we affirm in both cases. I. Background, Basic Facts, and Procedural History A. TRA Benefits Under the Trade Act, Congress established a program of benefits intended to supplement state unemployment benefits for workers who have lost their jobs as a result of competition from imports. See Int'l Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, & Agricultural Implement Workers of America v Brock, 477 US 274, 277; 106 S Ct 2523; 91 L Ed 2d 228 (1986). Under the Act's scheme, a group of workers, their union, or some other authorized representative may petition the Secretary of Labor to certify that their firm has been adversely affected by imports. [19 USC 2271 to 2273.] If the Secretary issues a certificate of eligibility for such a group, workers within that group who meet certain standards of individual eligibility may then apply for and receive TRA benefits. These benefits are funded entirely by the Federal Government, as is the cost of administering the program. [Id.] Although the Trade Act requires the Secretary of Labor to make the initial certification, the Trade Act permits the secretary "to contract out the job of making individual eligibility determinations to the state agencies that administer state unemployment insurance programs." Id.; see 19 USC 2311(a). In Michigan, the Agency has been empowered to make the individual eligibility determinations. Nevertheless, Congress has charged the Department with the duty of prescribing regulations necessary to carry out the Trade Act, see 19 USC 2320, and the Agency is "bound to apply the relevant regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor and the substantive provisions of the Act." Brock, 477 US at 278. In order for a worker to be eligible for benefits, the worker must meet one of three eligibility criteria: the worker must be enrolled in an approved training program, have completed an approved training program, or have obtained a written waiver of the training requirement. See 19 USC 2291(a)(5)(A) to (C); see also 19 USC 2291(c). With regard to the first criterion-- enrollment in an approved training program--19 USC 2291(a)(5)(A)(ii) also provides that the worker must enroll no later than the latest of (I) the last day of the 16th week after the worker's most recent total separation from adversely affected employment which meets the requirements of [19 USC 2291(a)(1) and (2)], (II) the last day of the 8th week after the week in which the Secretary issues a certification covering the worker, (III) 45 days after the later of the dates specified in subclause (I) or (II), if the Secretary determines there are extenuating circumstances that justify an extension in the enrollment period, or

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(IV) the last day of a period determined by the Secretary to be approved for enrollment after the termination of a waiver issued pursuant to [19 USC 2291(c)]. Congress added these deadlines in 2002, and they are commonly referred to as the "8/16 deadline." See PL 107-210,

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