Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
In a Department program administered under OAR
461-130-0305 to OAR
461-130-0335 and OAR
461-135-0085 and OAR
461-135-0089:
(1) The Department does not require a
participant to provide verification of "good cause" if providing the
verification would expose the participant to increased risk of domestic
violence (see OAR
461-001-0000).
(2) If in making a determination under this
rule a participant's physical or mental impairment is in question, the
Department may require the participant to provide documentation from a
qualified and appropriate medical professional.
(3) A participant is granted "good cause" and
not held to a penalty for failure to comply with a work program requirement,
including an activity in a case plan (both
terms defined in OAR 461-001-0025) in the following
circumstances:
(a) Participation in a
required activity in a case plan would have
an adverse effect on or risk to the participant's physical or mental health or
would expose the participant to increased risk of domestic
violence (see OAR
461-001-0000).
(b) Except in the SNAP program, participation
is likely to cause undue hardship for the dependent child (see
OAR 461-001-0000) or the
participant.
(c) Appropriate child
care, or day care for an individual in the household who has a
disability (see OAR
461-001-0000 and
461-001-0015 as applicable) that
substantially reduces or eliminates the individual's ability to care for
himself or herself, cannot be obtained. "Appropriate child care" means that -
(A) Both the provider and the place where
care is provided meet health, safety, and provider requirements as required in
OAR 414-175-0080;
(B) The care accommodates the parent's work
schedule; and
(C) The care meets
the specific needs of the dependent child, such as age and
special-needs requirements.
(d) Child care, or day care for an individual
in the household group (see OAR
461-110-0210) who has a
disability (see OAR
461-001-0000) that substantially
reduces or eliminates the individual's ability to care for themselves, cannot
be obtained within a reasonable distance. "Reasonable distance" means that the
parent's total travel time from home to the child care provider and the
workplace or JOBS activity will be no more than one hour either way unless a
longer commute time is customary in the community.
(e) The only child care, or day care for an
individual in the household group who has a
disability that substantially reduces or eliminates the
individual's ability to care for themselves, that is available to the
participant or in the participant's area is considered informal and unsuitable.
"Informal and unsuitable" means the Department has not approved a provider as
meeting its background check and health and safety standards ("informal"), and
the criteria for appropriate child care in subsection (c) of this section are
not met ("unsuitable").
(f)
Affordable child care arrangements, or day care for an individual in the
household group who has a disability that
substantially reduces or eliminates the individual's ability to care for
themselves, cannot be obtained. "Affordable child care arrangements" means the
expense to the parent or parents is less than ten percent of
countable (see OAR
461-001-0000) income of the
financial group (see OAR
461-110-0530).
(g) The work attachment position or
employment offered is vacant due to a strike, lockout, or other labor
dispute.
(h) The work attachment
position or employment requires the participant to join a union, and the
participant has religious objections to unions.
(i) The participant belongs to a union and
the employment violates the conditions of the participant's membership in the
union.
(j) The wage for the
participant's current or potential job is:
(A)
Less than applicable minimum wage; or
(B) If minimum wage laws do not apply, the
wage (rate for piece work) is less than that normally paid for similar
work.
(k) The
participant's prospective employer engages in employment practices that are
illegally discriminatory on the basis of age, sex, race, religious or political
belief, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnic
origin.
(l) The participant's
engagement in a required activity in a case
plan would prevent or interfere with the participant's engagement in
an activity of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's NEW program.
(m) The participant's failure to engage is
due to a circumstance beyond the participant's reasonable control.
(n) When the failure to comply is caused by
an aspect of the participant's disability, including the
Department's failure to provide a reasonable accommodation.
(o) The participant quits a job to accept
another job with a monthly income at least equal to the monthly income of the
first job.
(p) The Department
determines there are no appropriate activities or necessary support
services (see OAR
461-001-0025) to support an
activity (see OAR
461-001-0025) in order for the
participant to engage.
(q) In the
REF program:
(A) If the participant has no
means of transportation and would have to walk an unreasonable distance to
engage in their plan. An "unreasonable distance" is a distance that requires a
commute of more than two hours each day.
(B) If the hours or nature of the job
interferes with the participant's religious observances, convictions, or
beliefs.
(C) The service
requirement or work site is in violation of applicable federal, state, or local
health and safety standards.
(D)
The daily hours of work and the weekly hours of work exceed those customary to
the occupation.
(r) The
participant enrolls into a registered pre-apprenticeship program approved by
Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI).
(s) For a reason not found in subsections
(3)(a) through (3)(r) of this rule that the Department has determined is "good
cause."
(4) In the SNAP
program, a participant is excused from not accepting employment or for leaving
a job under the following circumstances:
(a)
The hours or nature of the job interferes with the participant's religious
observances, convictions, or beliefs.
(b) The participant accepts employment or
enrolls at least half-time in any recognized school, training program, or
institution of higher education that requires the participant to quit a
job.
(c) A participant accepts
employment or enrolls in school in another county, requiring the
benefit group (see OAR
461-110-0750) to move and the
participant to quit a job.
(d) A
participant less than 60 years of age resigns, and the employer recognizes the
resignation as retirement.
(e) The
participant leaves a job to follow a type of employment that moves from one
area to another, such as migrant labor or construction.
(f) The participant accepts a job that, for
reasons beyond the control of the participant, does not materialize or results
in fewer work hours or a lower wage than the participant's previous
job.
(g) Work demands or
conditions, such as not being paid for work or not being paid on schedule, make
employment unreasonable.
(h) The
wage for the participant's current or potential job is less than applicable
minimum wage or, if minimum wage laws do not apply, the wage (rate for piece
work) is less than that normally paid for similar work.
(i) The work schedule for the job in question
does not conform to hours customary to the occupation or the hours worked each
week are more than those customary to the occupation.
(j) The participant is not obligated to
accept a job during the first 30 days of registration for employment if the job
is not in the client's field of experience.
(k) The participant has no means of
transportation and would have to walk an unreasonable distance to meet the
participation requirement. An "unreasonable distance" is a distance that
requires a commute of more than two hours each day. The participant must make a
good-faith effort to secure the needed transportation.
(l) Lack of adequate child care for a child
who is six years of age or older and less than 12 years of age.
(5) In the SNAP program, a
participant may be excused from not meeting ABAWD work requirements (OAR
461-135-0520). "Good cause" may
be granted to remove a countable month if a participant has
been cooperating with their case plan (see OAR
461-001-0020), but is unable to
complete the requirements due to one or more of the following unexpected
circumstances. The circumstance must be beyond the control of the participant
and occur during the countable month:
(a) Inclement weather.
(b) Transportation difficulties.
(c) Illness impacting ability to
work.
(d) Tragic loss.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
409.050,
411.060,
411.816,
412.006,
412.009 &
412.049
Statutes/Other Implemented:
7 USC
2029,
7 CFR
273.7,
7 CFR
273.24,
45 CFR
261.56, 411.816, ORS
409.010,
411.060,
412.006,
412.009,
412.049,
7 USC
2015 &
412.072
