[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12360-12361]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04023]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

[TA-W-82,188; TA-W-82,188A]


PNC Bank, National Association, Retail Bank Franklin, PA; PNC 
Bank, National Association, Retail Bank West Chester, IL; Notice of 
Negative Determination Regarding Application for Reconsideration

    By application received on January 25, 2013, petitioners requested 
administrative reconsideration of the negative determination regarding 
workers' eligibility to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) 
applicable to workers and former workers of PNC Bank, National 
Association, Retail Bank, Franklin, Pennsylvania (TA-W-82,188), and PNC 
Bank, National Association, Retail Bank, West Chester, Illinois (TA-W-
82,188A) (hereafter referred to collectively as ``the subject firm''). 
The negative determination was issued on December 27, 2012. The 
Department's Notice of Determination was published in the Federal 
Register on January 10, 2013 (78 FR 2290). The subject firm supplies 
banking and financial services; the subject worker groups supply call 
center services.
    Pursuant to 29 CFR 90.18(c), administrative reconsideration may be 
granted under the following circumstances:
    (1) If it appears on the basis of facts not previously considered 
that the determination complained of was erroneous;
    (2) If it appears that the determination complained of was based on 
a mistake in the determination of facts not previously considered; or
    (3) If in the opinion of the Certifying Officer, a 
misinterpretation of facts or of the law justified reconsideration of 
the decision.
    The negative determination was based on the Department's findings 
that the subject firm did not shift to a foreign country the call 
center services supplied by the workers, or like or directly 
competitive services, or acquire such services from a foreign country; 
that increased imports by the subject firm of the supply of services 
like or directly competitive with the call center services supplied by 
the workers did not contribute importantly to the workers' separation, 
or threat of separation; and that the workers' firm is not a supplier 
or a downstream producer to a firm that employed a group of workers who 
are eligible to apply for TAA.
    The request for reconsideration alleges that worker group 
separations at PNC's Retail Banks in Franklin, Pennsylvania and West 
Chester, Illinois are attributable to a shift of services to foreign 
countries; specifically, that the subject firm's confirmation that 
there were no increased imports of call center services in 2010, 2011, 
and during January through October 2012 is ``an admission on the part 
of PNC that it does outsource services like or directly competitive 
with call center services'' and that PNC Bank has advertised for a 
``Project Manager for PNC Bank at Tata Consultancy Services'' in India. 
The request also states that the ``other facilities within the United 
States'' to which call center services shifted from the Franklin, 
Pennsylvania and West Chester, Illinois facilities are ``over 90 miles 
away resulting in a 2-hour one-way commute.''
    The request for reconsideration also repeated assertions in the TAA 
petition, included copies of certifications applicable to workers of 
several banks (TA-W-82,037; TA-W-81,995; TA-W-81,832; TA-W-81,616; TA-
W-80,440; TA-W-80,361; and TA-W-80,278), and referred to attachments to 
the TAA petition.
    A careful review of previously-submitted information shows that the 
Department received information from the subject firm that directly 
addressed the allegations of a shift in the supply of call center 
services (and like or directly competitive services) to a foreign 
country (including the specific allegation of the shift of services to 
Canada and the United Kingdom); use of call centers outside the United 
States; and increased imports of call center services (and like or 
directly competitive services). The review also shows that the 
Department had considered the supplemental petition material prior to 
issuing the negative determination.
    The petitioners did not supply facts not previously considered or 
provide

[[Page 12361]]

additional documentation indicating that there was either a mistake in 
the determination of facts not previously considered or a 
misinterpretation of facts or of the law justifying reconsideration of 
the initial determination. Based on these findings, the Department 
determines that 29 CFR 90.18(c) has not been met.

Conclusion

    After review of the applications and investigative findings, I 
conclude that there has been no error or misinterpretation of the law 
or of the facts which would justify reconsideration of the Department 
of Labor's prior decision. Accordingly, the application is denied.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 12th day of February, 2013.
Del Min Amy Chen,
Certifying Officer, Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance.
[FR Doc. 2013-04023 Filed 2-21-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P