Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
Resident farm laborers may work for one employer or for a
number of employers during the year. The certification procedures for these
households differ depending on how the household receives income.
(A)
Stable Income.
Some farm laborers are employed for the entire year and receive a regular
monthly salary. These households can be certified for up to one year if its
circumstances are not likely to change.
(B)
Irregular
Income.
(1)
One
Employer. In some instances a farm laborer household resides year
round on one farm, but is paid only during the work season. During the non-work
season, the household may receive advance or deferred payments. The worker may
have some difficulty in assigning an income figure to the farm worker whose
income is high during the work season and correspondingly low during the
non-work season when income is only from advance or deferred payments. Since
the variation in income between the two cycles may be quite substantial,
averaging income over the certification period might inhibit households from
participating during the non-work period of low income. Even if income is
prorated unevenly over the certification period to account for such variations,
the income figure assigned during the low period might not be truly
representative of the actual cash available to the household. For this reason,
consideration should be given to certifying the household for lesser periods to
take into account the income actually available to the household.
(2)
More than One
Employer. Farm laborer households which reside on one farm year
round, but do not receive advance or deferred payments will most likely have
income from another source during the non-work season. These households should
be assigned shorter certification periods in accordance with the predictability
of the receipt and amount of income.
(C)
Work
Requirements. Resident farm laborers must comply with work
requirements during the non-work season unless exempt as specified in
106 CMR
362.310: SNAP Employment and Training
Program or 362.320: SNAP Work Program.
