Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Any
individual subject to the NJ SNAP work requirements who either voluntarily
quits his or her job without good cause, or who voluntarily reduces his or her
work to less than 30 hours per week or his or her wages to less than the
equivalent of the Federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours, shall not be
eligible for participation in the NJ SNAP program in accordance with the
provisions at (c) below. Changes in employment status that result from
involuntarily reducing hours of employment while working for the same employer,
terminating a self-employment enterprise or resigning from a job at the demand
of the employer shall not be considered as a reduction of work effort or a
voluntary quit. If an individual quits a job, secures new employment at
comparable wages or hours and is then laid off or, through no fault of his or
her own, loses the new job, the earlier quit shall not be the basis of a
disqualification. An employee of the Federal Government, or of a State or local
government who participates in a strike against such government, and is
dismissed from his or her job because of participation in the strike shall be
considered to have voluntarily quit his or her job without good cause (see
10:87-10.11 concerning strikers).
The CWA shall explain to the household at the time of application the potential
consequences of household members quitting a job or reducing their wages or
hours of work without good cause.
(b) When a household files an application for
participation, or when a participating household reports the loss of a source
of income or a reduction in household earnings, the CWA shall determine if any
household member voluntarily quit his or her job or reduced his or her work
effort. The voluntary quit and reduction of work effort provisions apply if the
employment involved 30 hours or more per week or provided weekly earnings at
least equivalent to the Federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours; the quit
or reduction occurred within 60 days prior to the date of application or
anytime thereafter; and the quit was without good cause or the reduction of
work was voluntary and without good cause. Benefits shall not be delayed beyond
the application processing standards described at
10:87-2.26 and 2.28 pending the
outcome of the determination.
1. An
individual working under contract who declines, without good cause, a contract
renewal offer with terms comparable to those of the previous contract, and who
has not secured new employment at comparable wages/hours, shall be considered
to have voluntarily quit.
2.
Neither military personnel who do not re-enlist, nor persons who are not
offered employment contract renewal, shall be considered to have voluntarily
quit.
3. An individual who reduces
his or her work hours to less than 30 hours a week shall remain exempt from
program work requirements and shall not be considered to have reduced his or
her work effort if his or her weekly earnings exceed the Federal minimum wage
times 30 hours.
(c) The
CWA shall take the appropriate action, as outlined in (c)1 through 4 below,
upon a determination that a voluntarily quit or reduction in work effort
occurred.
1. Upon a determination that a
voluntarily quit or reduction in work effort has occurred, the CWA shall
determine if the violation was with good cause as defined at
10:87-10.6. If the violation was
not for good cause, the household's application for participation shall be
acted upon as follows:
i. If the individual
who committed the violation is the only member of the household, then the
household shall be denied NJ SNAP benefits for the duration of the
disqualification period. The disqualification is effective upon the issuance of
the notice of denial.
ii. If any
member of the applicant household is found to have committed the violation,
then only that individual shall be denied NJ SNAP benefits for the duration of
the disqualification period (see (c)2vi below). The disqualification is
effective upon the determination of eligibility for the remaining household
members. The income, resources and allowable deductions of this ineligible
household member shall be treated in accordance with
10:87-7.7(b).
iii. An individual who has committed a
voluntary quit or a reduction in work effort and has been denied NJ SNAP
benefits cannot be designated as the head of household, as defined at
10:87-2.6, during the
disqualification period.
2. If the CWA determines that a recipient
voluntarily quit his or her job or reduced his or her work effort while
participating in the program, or discovers a quit or reduction which occurred
within 60 days prior to application or between application and certification,
the CWA shall act upon the household's NJ SNAP case as follows:
i. If the individual who committed the
violation is the only member of the household, then eligibility shall be
terminated, and the individual shall be ineligible for the duration of the
disqualification period (see (c)2vi below).
ii. If any member of the household is found
to have committed the violation, then only that individual shall have his or
her NJ SNAP eligibility terminated for the duration of the disqualification
period (see (c)2vi below). The income, resources and allowable deductions of
this ineligible household member shall be treated in accordance with
10:87-7.7(b).
iii. If the individual who committed the
voluntary quit or a reduction in work effort is the head of household, a new
head of household shall be determined in accordance with the provisions at
10:87-2.6.
iv. The individual affected by the voluntary
quit or work effort reduction disqualification shall be issued a notice of
adverse action, which shall specify the period of disqualification, the
particular act of noncompliance committed, the actions that may be taken to
avoid the disqualification, the household's right to a fair hearing, and that
the individual may reapply at the end of the disqualification period.
v. An individual has a right to a fair
hearing to appeal a termination or denial of benefits due to a determination of
voluntarily quit or work effort reduction without good cause. If the
participating individual requests a fair hearing and the CWA determination is
upheld, the disqualification period shall begin the first of the month after
the hearing decision is rendered.
vi. The disqualification penalties for
voluntary quit or reduction of work effort are as follows:
(1) The first instance of a violation results
in a disqualification of one month;
(2) The second instance of a violation
results in a disqualification of three months;
(3) The third and subsequent instances of
violations result in a disqualification of six months.
3. If a household is certified
when a quit or reduction of work effort which occurred prior to certification
is discovered, the household shall be regarded as a participating household and
shall have the appropriate disqualification imposed.
4. If a work-eligible household member's
voluntary quit or reduction of work effort either occurs or is discovered in
the last month of the certification period, the individual shall be denied
recertification for the length of the appropriate disqualification period,
commencing with the first day of the month after the certification period
expires. If the household does not reapply, the CWA shall establish a claim
against the household for those benefits received by the household member for
the length of the appropriate disqualification period subsequent to the last
day of the month of the quit. If benefits were received for less than the
appropriate disqualification period subsequent to the last day of the month of
the quit, a claim shall be established for benefits that were overissued to the
household during that period and a period of ineligibility shall be assigned to
the work-eligible household member for the remainder of the disqualification
period. The end result being that the months covered by the claim and/or the
actual disqualification period imposed will be equal to the number of months
that otherwise should have been imposed under the appropriate disqualification
period.
(d) Persons
exempt from the work registration provisions as stated at
10:87-10.2 are exempt from the
voluntary quit or reduction of work effort provisions, with the exception of an
individual who was employed 30 or more hours per week and then quit that
employment (see
10:87-10.2(b)5
).
