(A)
Mandatory Requirements. Nonexempt household members
between 16 and 59 years of age must:
(1)
Register for work at application and every 12 months after initial
registration;
(2) Provide
information to the Department regarding employment status or job availability
when requested;
(3) Report to an
employer when the Department has made a referral and the work meets the
suitablity requirements as provided in
106 CMR
362.330(A)(3);
(4) Accept a legitimate offer of suitable
employment as described at
106 CMR
362.330(A)(3); and
(5) Not voluntarily, and without good cause,
quit a job of 30 or more hours a week or reduce work hours hours to less than
30 hours a week in accordance with Voluntary Quit provisions found at
106 CMR
362.340.
(B)
Voluntary SNAP Employment and
Training Participation. If a slot is available, SNAP recipients
may volunteer to participate in a SNAP Employment and Training Program (SNAP
E&T) component that is approved by the Department and is consistent with
the Department's federally approved Employment and Training Plan.
Volunteer SNAP E&T participants are expected to:
(1) Complete the SNAP E&T enrollment
form;
(2) Attend a SNAP E&T
interview;
(3) Begin participating
through the E&T vendor;
(4)
Provide verification of participation if requested on a form approved by the
Department;
(5) Participate in all
E&T component activities;
(6)
Take part in vendor-assisted job search activities; and
(7) Accept and maintain an offer of
employment as described by at
106 CMR
362.330(A)(3).
Voluntary participants in an employment and training component
will not be disqualified for failure to comply with employment and training
requirements.
(C)
Exemptions from General SNAP Work Requirements. The
individuals listed in 106 CMR 362.310(C)(1) through (10) are exempt from the
general SNAP work requirements found at 106 CMR 362.310(A). If verification is
necessary for a particular exemption, it is noted under that exemption.
(1)
Age. A person
younger than 16 years old or a person 60 years of age or older is exempt. A
child who has his or her 16th birthday within a
certification period shall fulfill the work registration requirement at the
next scheduled recertification, unless the child qualifies for another
exemption.
(2)
Persons
Physically or Mentally Unfit for Employment. Persons who are
physically or mentally unfit for employment due to disability or illness,
either permanently or temporarily, are exempt. If the disability or illness is
not obvious, appropriate verification of physical or mental unfitness must be
provided. Verification includes, but is not limited to:
(a) receipt of temporary or permanent
disability benefits from a government or private source;
(b) a written, dated and signed statement
from a competent medical authority stating that the person is physically or
mentally unfit for employment;
(c)
participation in a Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission program or other
Massachusetts-approved vocational rehabilitation program; and
(d) proof that the individual is temporarily
ill and that the illness is serious enough to temporarily prevent employment.
Persons claiming temporary unfitness for employment due to
illness will be required to meet work requirements once they become physically
or mentally fit.
(3)
TAFDC/EAEDC Work Program
Participants. A TAFDC or EAEDC client subject to and complying
with the relevant program's work requirement is exempt.
(4)
Unemployment Compensation
Applicants and Recipients. Unemployment Compensation applicants or
recipients subject to and participating in a comparable unemployment
compensation work program are exempt.
If the exemption claimed is questionable, the Department is
responsible for verifying the exemption with the office of the State employment
services agency.
(5)
Caretakers. A parent or other household member
responsible for the care of a dependent child under six or an incapacitated
person is exempt.
If the child has his or her sixth birthday within a
certification period, the caregiver of the child shall fulfill the work
requirements at the next scheduled recertification, unless the caregiver
qualifies for another exemption.
If a parent and another member of the household both claim to
be responsible for the care of the same dependent child or incapacitated
household member, the actual responsibility shall be determined by discussion
with the applicant or client.
(6)
Students.
Persons enrolled at least half-time in any recognized school, including high
school, a training program or institution of higher education who have met the
conditions provided in
106 CMR 362.400
and
362.410
are exempt. Enrollment must be verified at application and recertification.
Persons enrolled less than half-time or who experience a break
in their enrollment status due to graduation, expulsion or suspension, or who
drop out or otherwise do not intend to return to school do not qualify for this
exemption.
(7)
Addicts and Alcoholics. A regular participant, either
on a resident or nonresident basis, in a drug addiction or alcohol treatment
and rehabilitation program is exempt. Participation, if questionable, may be
verified through the organization or institution operating the
program.
(8)
Employed
Persons. Persons employed or self-employed are exempt if working a
minimum of 30 hours weekly or receiving weekly earnings equal to or greater
than the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours. The guidelines for
determining a client's eligibility for this exemption are as follows:
(a) Verification of earned income must
establish that the amount of income is consistent with a 30-hour work
week;
(b) If the income of the
employed individual does not meet the preceding test but he or she still claims
to be employed, the client shall be required to supply documentary evidence of
the existence of an employee-employer relationship and that the number of hours
worked is equivalent to 30 hours a week;
(c) If a self-employed person's income does
not meet the test in 106 CMR 362.310(C)(8)(a), he or she must establish that
the income received from the self-employment activity is sufficient to be
considered gainful employment and that the amount of work claimed justifies a
determination that the self-employment activity is a full-time job for the
purpose of this exemption; and
(d)
Persons engaged in hobbies or any other activity that cannot, because of the
minimal amount of monies received from such activity, be considered gainful
employment are not exempt.
(9)
Teens. A person
16 or 17 years of age who is:
(a) not a head
of household;
(b) attending school
on at least a half-time basis; or
(c) enrolled in an employment and training
program on at least a half-time basis, is exempt.
An exempt teen who turns 18 years of age within a certification
period must fulfill the work registration requirement at the next scheduled
recertification unless he or she qualifies for another exemption.
(10)
Pregnant Women. A woman in her second or third
trimester of pregnancy is exempt.
(D)
Work Registration
Requirement. Nonexempt household members must complete and sign
the work registration section on a form prescribed by the Department. A copy of
the form is retained in the case record. Refusal to work-register without good
cause will result in disqualification in accordance with
106 CMR
367.800: Disqualification
Penalties.
A person who loses his or her exemption status due to changes
in circumstances that he or she is required to report as a condition of SNAP
certification must register for work when the change is reported. Those persons
who lose their exemption due to a change in circumstances that is not subject
to the reporting requirements must register for work at their household's next
recertification.
