Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a) As permitted
by Federal law, good cause includes the following circumstances beyond the
individual's control:
(1) The job was beyond
the capacity of the individual.
(2)
The individual reasonably attempted and is unable to secure or to maintain
transportation.
(3) The individual
reasonably attempted and cannot secure or maintain appropriate child care, as
defined in §
165.2 (relating to definitions),
or appropriate adult care for an incapacitated adult living in the same home,
within a reasonable distance from the individual's home, as defined in §
165.2.
(4) The working conditions
are substandard; that is, the place of employment is not free of recognized
hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm,
or the wages paid are below the minimum wage if applicable for that type of
employment or are below the prevailing wage normally paid in the community for
that specific kind of employment.
(5) The individual establishes a basis for a
claim of discrimination by an employer or fellow employees based on age, race,
sex, color, handicap, religious beliefs, national origin or political beliefs
or other unlawful discrimination.
(6) The individual leaves a job in connection
with patterns of employment in which workers frequently move from one employer
to another, such as migrant farm labor, construction work or temporary work
through an agency. Even though employment at the new site has not actually
started, leaving the previous employment shall be considered good cause it if
is part of the pattern of that type of employment.
(7) Personal illness or illness of another
household or family member.
(8) A
personal emergency.
(9) The
individual failed to receive notice at least 2 days prior to the date of a
scheduled RESET activity.
(10) The
individual was placed in an education or training activity that was beyond the
capacity of the individual to complete, and the individual is willing to
participate in another activity better suited to the individual's needs and
aptitudes.
(11) A required
employment and training activity conflicts with scheduled hours of employment
or a job interview.
(12) The
location of a RESET site or job is more than 2 hours round-trip by reasonably
available public or private transportation from the individual's
residence.
(13) The individual is
claiming to be exempt from RESET participation requirements under §
165.21 (relating to exemptions
from RESET participation requirements) and is cooperating in an attempt to
provide verification of exemption.
(b) In determining good cause, the worker
will consider all the facts and circumstances, especially if the transgression
is relatively minor (such as reporting to a component a few minutes late) or
isolated in nature (such as forgetting to keep an appointment, despite good
overall attendance). The Department may request verification from the
individual when determining good cause. Even after the CAO has made a
preliminary determination of the lack of good cause, an individual may offer
evidence of good cause to avoid sanction.
(c) The Department may grant good cause for
up to 6 months to an individual, when strict application of any RESET
participation requirement would not promote an individual's approved plan for
self-sufficiency, as recorded on the AMR, and would make it more difficult for
the individual to fulfill the plan. Examples of good cause for not strictly
complying with a RESET participation requirement include:
(1) Hours that an individual is participating
in an approved education or training activity which began during the first 24
months of receipt of cash assistance, if the total hours of instruction, lab
time and work or work-related activity, whichever applies, equals at least 20
hours per week.
(2) Hours that an
individual is participating in an internship, student teaching, or practicum
assignment required as part of an approved education or training curriculum, if
the individual is maintaining satisfactory progress as determined by the school
or training agency, and the total hours of this activity and work or
work-related activity, whichever applies, equals at least 20 hours per
week.
(d) The Department
may also grant good cause to a pregnant or parenting individual under 22 years
of age who is enrolled in high school or attending a minimum 20-hour per week
GED program, until the individual graduates from high school, receives a GED or
reaches 22 years of age, whichever occurs first.
The provisions of this §165.52 amended under sections
201(2), 403(b), 403.1, 405, 405.1, 405.1A, 405.3, 408, 432 and 432.3 of the
Public Welfare Code (62 P. S. §§
201(2),
403(b), 403.1, 405, 405.1,
405.1A, 405.3, 408, 432 and 432.3); Titles I and III of the Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No.
104-193) (PRWORA), creating the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, and amending
42 U.S.C.A. §§
601-619,
651-669(b) and
1396u-1; and the Federal
TANF regulations in 45 CFR
260.10-265.10.
This section cited in 55 Pa. Code §
140.513 (relating to eligibility
end date); 55 Pa. Code §
141.55 (relating to mandatory
RESET participants); 55 Pa. Code §
141.56 (relating to deferred
referral); 55 Pa. Code §
141.61 (relating to policy); 55
Pa. Code §
165.1 (relating to general); 55
Pa. Code §
165.21 (relating to exemptions
from RESET participation requirements); 55 Pa. Code §
165.31 (relating to RESET
participation requirements); and 55 Pa. Code §
165.51 (relating to compliance
review).
