FOOD STAMP MANUAL REVISION #42
IMNL Section 1105.025.35

The travel timeframes are as follows:

• travel to and from the place of employment is more than two hours round trip, including time to transport a child to a child care provider, or

 
• walking is the only available means of transportation and the round trip is more than four miles.

There may be instances when it will be necessary to contact a neighboring county to determine if there are more than three employers participating in DJP within travel timeframes of the participant's home.  If there are not more than three participating employers within the travel timeframes, do not sanction the participant for refusing employment or an offer of employment.  If there are more than three employers within travel timeframes participating in DJP and the participant refuses employment or an offer of employment, begin the conciliation and sanctioning process. 

IMNL Section 1105.025.35 is revised to reflect these changes.

• Discuss this memorandum with appropriate staff.

 
• Implement this policy immediately.

 
• File the revised manual page in the hard copy of the food stamp manual.

2. Did the noncomplying member have good cause for failure to comply with work registration (METP)?

  Cure:  DES determines good cause for the JST (Workforce Linkage) and JS components.  When the noncomplying member states s/he has a good reason for not cooperating with DES, send the noncomplying member back to DES.  Instruct the registrant to explain his/her situation to the DES counselor so good cause can be determined.  The counselor can pend the process to allow the claimant time to solve the problem.

  NOTE:  The noncomplying member must report to DES.  DES must notify the DFS office the claimant has complied before the noncompliance is cured.

  Good cause for noncompliance with a DJP, ABE or JTPA component is determined by the DFS caseworker.

 3. If in noncompliance with JTPA and ABE components, how can the noncompliance be cured?

  Cure:  If there is another slot available with JTPA or ABE, the individual may return for participation.  If not, claimant must be referred to Direct Job Placement  (DJP) or MJET (where offered).  A sanction cannot be imposed if there is no cure.

  NOTE: When an individual fails to comply with Temporary Assistance case management activities, follow the policy outlined under MEPT non-compliance for JST (Workforce Linkage), JS, DJP and MJET components.

Sanctions for noncompliance with work registration (METP) will be applied as follows:

1. For the first failure-to-comply occurrence, sanction the individual until compliance.

 2. For the second failure-to-comply occurrence, sanction the individual for a minimum of three months or until compliance whichever is longer.  The participant is required to serve the three-month sanction.

 3. For subsequent failure-to-comply (any failure-to-comply beyond the second failure), sanction the individual for

a minimum of six months or until compliance, whichever is longer.

1105.025.35      Work Registration (METP) -- Suitable Employment
IM-#143  10/01/99

Do not consider employment suitable if:

 1. the wage offered is less than the applicable federal minimum wage (or training wage) or 80 percent of the federal minimum wage (or training wage) if minimum wage is not applicable;

 2. the employment offered is on a piece-rate basis and the average hourly yield the employee can reasonably be expected to earn is less than the wage described above;

 3. the household member, as a condition of employment/continuing employment, is required to join, resign from, or refrain from joining any legitimate labor organization;

 4. work offered is at a site subject to a strike or lockout at the time of the offer (this would not apply if the strike has been enjoined under the Taft-Hartley Act, or an injunction has been issued under the Railway Labor Act);

 5. the degree of risk to health and safety is unreasonable;

  a) the conditions are in violation of applicable health and safety standards and the individual was referred for employment through Direct Job Placement;

 6. the household member is physically or mentally unfit to perform the employment (this must be documented by medical evidence or by information from other sources);

 7. the employment offered within the first 30 days of work registration is not in the household member's major field of experience;

 8. the daily commuting time from the member's home to the job site exceeds two hours per day (the time does not include the transporting of a child(ren) to and from a child care facility);

  a) EXCEPTION: the employment or offer of employment is a result of a Direct Job Placement referral and the commuting time from the participants home to the job, including time to transport a child to and from a child care facility, exceeds two hours per day or the participant is walking to work and the round trip is more than four miles.  This exception applies if there are three or fewer employers participating in Direct Job Placement within two hours of the participant's home.

 9. the working hours, or nature of the employment, interferes with the member's religious observances, convictions, or beliefs;

 10. unreasonable work demands/conditions exist, such as working without getting paid on schedule; or

 11. discrimination exists by an employer based on age, race, sex, color, handicap, religious beliefs, national origin, or political beliefs.

1105.025.40      Determining Good Cause for Work Registration (METP) Components
IM-#32  April 1, 1999

1. To determine good cause, consider all circumstances, including information submitted by the household.  Good cause is:

 a. a circumstance beyond the members' control.  This can include, but is not limited to, illness or illness of another household member requiring the individual's presence in the home;

 b. a household emergency;

 c. the unavailability of transportation; or

 d. the lack of adequate child care for children who have reached age 6 but are under age 12.

2. DES determines good cause for registrants in the JST (Workforce Linkage) and JS components.

3. The caseworker determines good cause for registrants who do not comply with DJP activities, at the point of referral for JTPA, and anytime they are participating in the ABE component.  Refer to the DJP, JTPA, and ABE component descriptions for noncompliance procedures.  Registrants in these components who do not comply after beginning the component, are subject to disqualification penalties.

1105.025.45      STRIKERS
IM-#32  April 1, 1999

A household member not working because of a strike or a lockout at his/her place of employment is not considered in violation of work registration requirements solely for that reason unless the strike is in violation of the Taft-Hartley Act or an injunction has been issued under Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act.  To enjoin a strike under the Taft-Hartley Act or Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act, the appropriate federal court must determine, upon petition of the President of the United States, that a strike or a threatened strike affecting an entire industry or a substantial part of it, jeopardizes the national health or safety or essential transportation service. 

For example, in the case of the United Steel Workers of America vs. U.S., the Taft-Hartley Act was invoked.  In these situations, the entire household of the work registrant refusing an offer of employment at the struck plant is disqualified unless it can be shown that the striker is exempt from registration the day before the strike for a reason other than employment.  Even a limited issuance to the household could undermine the intent of federal legislation at a time of national crises and could prolong the strike enjoined by court order.
 

1105.025.50      Work Effort Reduction
IM-#32  April 1, 1999

An individual who voluntarily and without good cause reduces his/her work effort, and after the reduction, is working less than 30 hours per week, is determined to be ineligible to participate in the Food Stamp Program.  These individuals are subject to the disqualification penalties outlined in Work Registration (METP) Noncompliance Sanctions.

Explore situations in which the participant reports a change that indicates the number of hours worked per week have been reduced to less than 30 hours per week.  For example, a reported change in income may indicate a reduction in the number of hours worked per week.  Explore work effort reduction at application, recertification, and when a change is reported.

If it is determined the participant voluntarily reduced his/her work effort to less than 30 hours per week, explore good cause.  See Determining Good Cause for Work Registration (METP) Components.  If the participant did not have good cause for the reduction, apply the sanctions outlined in Work Registration (METP) Noncompliance Sanctions.

1105.025.55      VOLUNTARY JOB QUIT
IM-#32  April 1, 1999

Voluntary job quit provisions and sanctioning policies apply to all household members.  If any household member voluntarily and without good cause quits a job, that individual is subject to sanctioning.  The rest of the household remains eligible.
 

1105.025.55.05        Job Quit Sanctions
IM-#32  April 1, 1999

Job quit is considered "a violation of" or "noncompliance with" work registration.  Apply the appropriate sanction for noncompliance with work registration.