Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
Every work registrant participating in
the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) is subject to general work
requirements as a condition of receiving benefits. This rule describes the
general work requirements, the consequences for not fulfilling a general work
requirement and the process for regaining SNAP eligibility after failing or
refusing to fulfill a general work requirement.
(A)
What are the
general work requirements?
(1)
Every work registrant in SNAP is subject to the
following work requirements:
(a)
Upon request, provide the county agency with sufficient
information regarding employment status or availability for
work;
(b)
Report to a suitable employer when referred by the
county agency;
(c)
Accept a bona fide offer of suitable employment when
referred by the county agency;
(d)
Continue suitable
employment until it is no longer considered suitable; the individual is
terminated for reasons beyond the individual's control; or the individual
becomes exempt from the general work requirements; and
(e)
Not voluntarily
and without good cause quit a job of thirty or more hours a week or reduce work
effort to less than thirty hours a week.
(2)
For purposes of
this rule, employment is "unsuitable" when:
(a)
The wage offered
is less than the highest of the applicable federal or state minimum wage or
eighty per cent of the federal minimum wage, when neither the federal nor the
state minimum wage is applicable;
(b)
The employment
offered is on a piece-rate basis, (i.e., paid per unit of production) and the
average hourly yield the employee can reasonably be expected to earn is less
than the applicable hourly wages;
(c)
The assistance
group member, as a condition of employment or continuing employment, is to
join, resign from, or refrain from joining any legitimate labor organization;
or
(d)
The work offered is at a site subject to a strike or
lockout at the time of the offer unless the strike has been enjoined under
section 208 of the Labor- Management Relations Act of 1947
29 U.S.C.
141 (6/1947), or unless an injunction has
been issued under section 10 of the Railway Labor Act of 1926,
45 U.S.C.
151 (10/1996).
(3)
For purposes of
this rule:
(a)
An individual voluntarily and without good cause quitting their job includes
when an employee of the federal, state or local government participates in a
strike against the employer, and is dismissed from their job because of
participation in the strike.
(b)
An individual has
reduced their work hours without good cause when the reduction results in
earning less than the federal minimum wage times thirty hours.
(c)
A voluntary job
quit or a reduction of work is not to be explored by the county agency when an
individual reduces hours or resigns at the demand of the employer, terminates
self-employment or quits a job and secures comparable employment.
"Comparable" is not strictly defined
and a county agency is not to declare a new job incomparable simply because the
number of hours or the salary is lower than the job that was quit without
discussing the circumstances with the individual.
(B)
What is good cause for not fulfilling a work
requirement?
The county agency is responsible for
determining good cause when a work registrant does not fulfill a general work
requirement. In determining whether or not good cause exists, the county agency
is to take into account the facts and circumstances, including information
submitted by an employer and/or the assistance group member
involved.
(1)
Good cause includes circumstances beyond the work
registrant's control, such as, but not limited to:
(a)
Illness (either
their own or that of another assistance group member requiring the presence of
the work registrant);
(b)
Assistance group emergency;
(c)
The
unavailability of transportation;
(d)
The lack of
adequate child care for children who have reached age six but are under age
twelve; and
(e)
Domestic violence, as defined in section
5107.02 of the Revised
Code.
(2)
Good cause for leaving employment includes
circumstances beyond the work registrant's control and also includes, but is
not limited to, the following:
(a)
Discrimination by an employer based on age, race, sex,
color, handicap, religious beliefs, national origin or political
beliefs.
(b)
Work demands or conditions that render continued
employment unreasonable, such as working without being paid on
schedule.
(c)
Acceptance of employment by the individual, or
enrollment by the individual in any recognized school, training program, or
institution of higher education on at least a half time basis, that requires
the individual to leave employment; or acceptance by any other assistance group
member of employment or enrollment at least half time in any recognized school,
training program, or institution of higher education in another county or
similar political subdivision that requires the assistance group to move and
thereby requires the individual to leave employment.
(d)
Resignations by
persons under the age of sixty that are recognized by the employer as
retirement.
(e)
Employment that becomes unsuitable, as specified in
paragraph (A) of this rule, after the acceptance of such
employment.
(f)
Acceptance of a bona fide offer of employment of more
than thirty hours a week or in which the weekly earnings are equivalent to the
federal minimum wage multiplied by thirty hours that, because of circumstances
beyond the control of the individual, subsequently either does not materialize
or results in employment that is not suitable.
(g)
Leaving a job 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 where assistance groups will apply for SNAP benefits
between jobs particularly in cases where work is not yet available at the new
job site. Even though employment at the new site has not actually begun, the
quitting of the previous employment is to be considered good cause when it is
part of the pattern of that type of employment.
(3)
When a county
agency finds the information regarding an assertion of good cause is
questionable as defined in rule
5101:4-2-09 of the
Administrative Code, it will request verification of the assistance group's
statements. It is the assistance group's responsibility to provide the
necessary verification. However, when the county agency has access to the
information needed it should be considered. When assistance in gathering the
information is needed, it is to be provided by the county agency. When good
cause is questionable and the assistance group fails or refuses to provide
verification of the questionable information, good cause will not be
determined.
(4)
Prior to taking action in accordance with paragraph (C)
of this rule, the county agency is to ensure that the work registrant was
informed of the alleged failure(s) to meet a work requirement and their right
to provide good cause information to the county agency. The county agency is to
inform the work registrant of the failure by any reasonable means (letter,
phone call, email, etc.).
Once a work registrant has been
informed of the alleged failure, it is their responsibility to contact the
county agency within seven days of the notification to show good cause for the
alleged failure.
(C)
What are the
consequences for not fulfilling a general work requirement?
Within ten days of determining a work
registrant failed or refused to fulfill a work requirement without good cause,
the county agency will utilize the Ohio benefits integrated eligibility system
to issue a notice of adverse action. In accordance with division 5101:6 of the
Administrative Code, the notice will include a clear and understandable
statement of the proposed action and the reason(s) for it, citations to
applicable regulations and the work registrant's right to request a state
hearing.
(1)
A work registrant in receipt of SNAP benefits who fails
or refuses without good cause to meet a general work requirement will be
sanctioned in accordance with this paragraph.
(a)
For a first
failure or refusal, the county agency is to sanction the individual by denying
or terminating the individual's eligibility to participate in the SNAP for a
minimum of one benefit month.
(b)
For a second
failure or refusal, the county agency is to sanction the individual by denying
or terminating the individual's eligibility to participate in the SNAP for a
minimum of three benefit months.
(c)
For a third or
subsequent refusal, the county agency is to sanction the individual by denying
or terminating the individual's eligibility to participate in the SNAP for a
minimum of six benefit months.
(2)
An applicant
subject to the general work requirements who has a voluntary job quit or
reduction of work hours without good cause and within sixty days of applying
for SNAP will be ineligible for SNAP for the same time period that they
otherwise would have been sanctioned for the failure.
(3)
When an
individual stops receiving SNAP benefits for a different reason before the
actual imposition of the sanction, the sanction will not be held in abeyance.
The establishment of new residence in another county or another assistance
group by an individual who has been proposed for a sanction or who is currently
under sanction does not, in and of itself, negate the sanction.
(D)
What
is the consequence of quitting a job or reducing effort for an individual who
is exempt from the general work requirements because they were working thirty
or more hours per week (or receiving weekly earnings at least equal to the
federal minimum wage multiplied by thirty hours)?
If a SNAP recipient who is exempt from
the general work requirements quits job/ reduces hours without good cause and
is not working thirty or more hours per week or otherwise exempt from the
general work requirements, then the county agency is to propose a sanction in
accordance with paragraph (C) of this rule.
(E)
How does an
individual regain eligibility after not fulfilling a general work
requirement?
(1)
Except for work registrants sanctioned as a result of a
voluntary quit or reduction of work effort, prior to reinstatement of benefits,
the county agency is to provide, and the sanctioned work registrant is to sign
the JFS 03804 "Ohio Works First/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) Sanction Compliance Agreement."
(a)
When the JFS
03804 is signed prior to the end of the sanction period, the sanctioned
individual regains eligibility and the county agency reinstates benefits after
the minimum sanction period is served.
(b)
When the JFS
03804 is signed after the end of the minimum sanction period, the individual
regains eligibility effective the day the JFS 03804 was signed and returned and
the county agency reinstates benefits pursuant to rule
5101:4-7-01 of the
Administrative Code.
(2)
For work
registrants disqualified or sanctioned as a result of voluntary quit or
reduction of work effort:
(a)
Eligibility may be reestablished during a
disqualification period and the individual is to, when otherwise eligible, be
permitted to resume participation without signing a JFS 03804 when:
(i)
The individual
secures new employment that is comparable in salary or hours to the job that
was quit.
(ii)
The individual may increase his or her work effort to
thirty or more hours per week or earn an amount equal to the federal minimum
wage times thirty hours per week; or
(b)
When the minimum
sanction period is served and the sanctioned individual has not found new
employment or increased hours of employment, the individual may begin
participation in the SNAP program when the individual is fulfilling the general
work requirements and is otherwise determined eligible.
(3)
When
the circumstances change and the individual qualifies for an exemption from the
general work requirements, the individual may qualify for SNAP benefits. Such
exemptions may occur before the minimum sanction period ends.
(F)
How
are failures for noncompliance with unemployment compensation or an Ohio works
first (OWF) work requirement handled?
Individuals exempt from the general
work requirement due to receiving unemployment compensation or OWF benefits are
to comply with the unemployment compensation or OWF requirements. When a county
agency learns that an assistance group has lost or been denied unemployment
compensation or OWF eligibility, the county agency is to determine whether the
loss or denial was caused by a determination of the administering agency that
the individual failed or refused without good cause to comply with an
unemployment compensation or OWF requirement.
(1)
When it is
determined that the individual failed or refused to meet an OWF requirement and
all members of the SNAP assistance group are receiving OWF benefits, the county
agency is to follow rule
5101:4-3-09 of the
Administrative Code.
(2)
When it is determined that the individual failed or
refused to meet an OWF requirement and one or more members of the SNAP
assistance group are not in receipt of OWF benefits, or the individual failed
or refused to meet an unemployment compensation requirement, the county agency
is to determine if the individual who failed or refused to meet an unemployment
compensation or OWF program requirement was exempt from the general work
requirements pursuant to rule
5101:4-3-11 of the
Administrative Code and:
(a)
When the individual meets a different exemption from
the general work requirements, no further action is needed.
(b)
When the
individual does not meet a different exemption from the general work
requirements, the county agency is to sanction the individual in accordance
with paragraph (C) of this rule. The income and resources of the individual
will be treated in accordance with paragraph (A) of rule
5101:4-6-13 of the
Administrative Code.
(c)
Assistance group members who fail to comply with an
unemployment compensation or OWF requirement that is not equivalent to that of
a SNAP work requirement are to lose their exemption and must be registered for
work when not otherwise exempt.
Replaces: 5101:4-3-11.1, 5101:4-3-11.2, 5101:4-3-19