Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
(A) If a
household member is unemployed and has voluntarily quit a job without good
cause, the individual or household will be disqualified in accordance with
106 CMR
367.800: Disqualification
Penalties. Good cause criteria are found in 106 CMR 362.340(C).
(1)
Applicant
Households. For applicant households, when a client subject to the
SNAP work requirements at
106 CMR
362.310 is unemployed and has voluntarily
quit a job without good cause within the 60 days before application, the entire
household shall be ineligible in accordance with
106 CMR
367.800: Disqualification
Penalties.
(2)
Ongoing Households. For ongoing households, when a
client subject to SNAP work requirements is unemployed and has voluntarily quit
a job without good cause while participating in the program, the individual
shall be disqualified in accordance with
106 CMR
367.800:
Disqualification
Penalties. The entire household will be disqualified in accordance
with
106 CMR
367.800 if the head of household voluntarily
quits a job while participating in the program.
Persons who have been disqualified for quitting a job without
good cause will carry their sanction with them if they join a new
household.
(B)
Definition of Unemployed. Employment of less than 20
hours per week or receiving weekly earnings that are less than the federal
minimum wage multiplied by 20 hours.
This 20-hour requirement is different from the 30-hour
requirement used to determine full time employment for exemption from SNAP work
requirements as provided in
106 CMR
362.310(C)(8).
(C)
Voluntary Quit Good Cause
Criteria. Good cause for leaving employment includes the good
cause reasons found at
106 CMR
362.330 as well as the following reasons:
(1) Work demands or conditions that render
continued employment unreasonable, such as working without being paid on
schedule;
(2) Acceptance of
employment by the household member or enrollment at least half-time in any
recognized school, training program or institution of higher education that
requires the household member to leave employment;
(3) Acceptance of employment by the household
member or enrollment at least half-time in any recognized school, including
high school, training program or institution of higher education that requires
the household to move and the household member to leave employment;
(4) Resignations by persons younger than 60
years old when the resignation is recognized by the employer as
retirement;
(5) Employment becomes
unsuitable after acceptance of such employment in accordance with
106 CMR
362.330(A)(3) through
(8);
(6) Acceptance by the household member of a
bona fide offer of employment of more than 20 hours per week
or in which the weekly earnings are at least equivalent to the federal minimum
wage multiplied by 20 hours when, because of circumstances beyond the household
member's control, the employment subsequently either does not happen or results
in employment of less than 20 hours per week or weekly earnings of less than
the federal minimum wage multiplied by 20 hours; and
(7) The leaving of employment by the
household member in connection with patterns of employment in which workers
frequently move from one employer to another, such as migrant farm labor or
construction work. There may be some circumstances when households will apply
for SNAP benefits between jobs particularly in cases where work may not yet be
available at the new job site. Even though employment at the new site has not
actually begun, the quitting of the previous employment shall be considered
considered as with good cause if it is part of the pattern of that type of
employment.
(D)
Changes in Employment That Are Not Considered a Voluntary
Quit. Changes in employment that are not considered a voluntary
quit include the following:
(1) Reducing
hours of employment while working for the same employer;
(2) Termination of a self-employment
enterprise;
(3) Resigning from a
job at the demand of the employer; and
Exception: Federal, state, or local
government employees who participate in a strike against such employers and who
are dismissed from their jobs because of participation in the strike shall be
considered to have voluntarily quit their job without good cause.
(4) If an individual quits a job,
secures new employment at comparable wages or hours and is then laid off
through no fault of his or her own, the earlier quit will not form the basis of
a disqualification.
(E)
Exemption from the Voluntary Quit Provision. Persons
exempt from SNAP work requirements at
106 CMR
362.310(C), with the
exception of
106 CMR
362.310(C)(8), are exempt
from voluntary quit provisions.
(F)
Verification of Voluntary Quit. The Department shall
request verification of the client's statements only when information given by
the client is questionable, inconsistent with information on the application or
previous applications or inconsistent with information known to the Department.
The primary responsibility for providing verification rests with the client.
However, if it is difficult or impossible for the client to obtain documentary
evidence in a timely manner, the Department shall offer assistance to the
client to obtain the needed verification.
(1)
Sources of Verification. Acceptable sources of
verification include, but are not limited to, the previous employer, employee
associations, union representatives and grievance committees or organizations.
Whenever documentary evidence cannot be obtained, a Department shall substitute
a collateral contact. If the collateral contact designated by the household
cannot be expected to provide accurate third-party verification, the Department
shall ask the household to designate another collateral contact and document in
the case record why the original collateral contact was unacceptable.
(2)
Inability to Obtain
Verification. No household shall be denied participation in SNAP
when the household and the Department are unable to obtain verification from
the sources in 106 CMR 362.340(1), or from other sources because the reason for
the quit cannot be verified. Such reasons include, but are not limited to,
resignation due to discriminatory practices or unreasonable demands by an
employer or because the employer cannot be located.
(G)
Voluntary Quit at
Application. When the Department makes a determination of
voluntary quit without good cause, the household's application shall be denied
and the entire household shall remain ineligible to participate in SNAP in
accordance with
106 CMR
367.800: Disqualification
Penalties.
If a household reapplies with less than 30 days remaining in
the disqualification period, the Department shall use the same application to
deny benefits for the remainder of the disqualification period and to certify
the household for subsequent month(s) if all other eligibility criteria are met
by the household in accordance with
106 CMR
364.110(A).
(H)
Voluntary Quit for
Participating Household. When the Department makes a determination
of voluntary quit during a household's participation in the program, a Notice
of Adverse Action shall be sent within ten days after the determination of a
voluntary quit is made. The disqualification period shall comply with
106 CMR
367.800: Disqualification
Penalties.
(I)
Ending a Voluntary Quit Disqualification. Following
the end of the disqualification period, a household may begin participation in
the program if it applies again and is determined eligible.
Eligibility may be reestablished during a disqualification
period and the household shall be permitted to resume participation in the
program, if the household is otherwise eligible and the member who caused the
disqualification:
(1) gets a new job
that is comparable in salary or hours to the j ob that was quit (comparable
employment may involve fewer hours or a lower net salary than the job that was
quit);
(2) leaves the household;
or
(3) becomes exempt from SNAP
work requirements pursuant to
106 CMR 362.310(C)
with the exception of
106 CMR
362.310(C)(8).
