Ohio Admin. Code 5101:4-3-11.1 - Food assistance: work registration requirements
(A) What are the
work registration requirements for work registered individuals?
Each individual required to register for work shall:
(1) Respond to a request for supplemental
information regarding employment status or availability for work;
(2) Report to an employer when referred by
the county agency unless the potential employment meets the unsuitability
criteria described in paragraph (E) of this rule;
(3) Accept a bona fide offer of suitable
employment when referred by the county agency;
(4) 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 work
registration; and
(5) Participate
in the appraisal process and the supplemental nutrition assistance program
(SNAP) employment and training program (SNAP E&T) in accordance with rule
5101: 4-3-29 of the Administrative Code, unless the individual is:
(a) Pregnant;
(b) Under eighteen or fifty years of age or
older;
(c) A parent (natural,
adoptive or step) of an assistance group member under age eighteen, even when
the assistance group member who is under eighteen is not eligible for SNAP
benefits; or
(d) Residing in an
assistance group where an assistance group member is under age eighteen, even
when the assistance group member who is under eighteen is not eligible for SNAP
benefits.
(B)
What happens when an individual fails or refuses to meet the work registration
requirements?
(1) Failure or refusal to
complete the appraisal process as defined in rule
5101:4-3-29
of the Administrative Code by a required individual will result in a sanction.
A sanction shall be applied in accordance with rule 5101:4-3-11.2 of the
Administrative Code. County agencies shall follow rule
5101:4-6-13
of the Administrative Code for the treatment of income and resources of the
individual.
(2) Failure or refusal
without good cause to participate in SNAP E&T to the extent required by the
county agency will result in a sanction. A sanction
shall be applied in accordance with rule 5101:4-3-11.2 of the
Administrative Code, with the exception of job
retention services as described in rule 5101:4-3-39 of the Administrative
Code .
(3) Failure or refusal
without good cause to accept an offer of suitable employment will result in a
sanction. A sanction shall be applied in accordance with rule 5101:4-3-11.2 of
the Administrative Code. Unsuitable employment is defined in paragraph (E) of
this rule.
(4) Failure or refusal
without good cause to provide the county agency with sufficient information to
allow the county agency to determine the employment status or the job
availability of the individual will result in a sanction. A sanction shall be
applied in accordance with rule 5101:4-3-11.2 of the Administrative
Code.
(5) Voluntarily and without
good cause: quits a job of thirty or more hours a week or reduces work effort
and, after the reduction, the individual is working less than thirty hours per
week will result in a sanction. A sanction shall be applied in accordance with
rule 5101:4-3-11.2 of the Administrative Code. When the individual reduces his
or her work hours to less than thirty a week, but continues to earn weekly
wages that exceed the federal minimum wage multiplied by thirty hours, the
individual remains exempt from work registration in accordance with rule
5101:4-3-11
of the Administrative Code.
(C) What is good cause?
(1) The county agency shall be responsible
for determining good cause at any time when a work registered individual fails
or refuses to comply with an appraisal, SNAP E&T assignment or when a work
registered individual voluntarily quits a job or reduces his or her work
effort. In determining whether or not good cause exists, the county agency
shall take into account the facts and circumstances, including information
submitted by the employer and the assistance group member involved.
(2) An able-bodied adult without dependents
(ABAWD) who received good cause for failure to comply with the mandatory SNAP
E&T requirement is to also receive good cause for failure to comply with
the ABAWD work requirement, except as specified in paragraph (C)(4)(g) of this
rule.
(3) When a SNAP E&T
provider determines an ABAWD is not suited for participation in the assigned
component as described in rule 5101:4-3-11.2 of the Administrative Code the
individual has good cause from the SNAP E&T assignment and ABAWD work
requirement through the month the individual is notified in writing of the
determination. The ABAWD is to accrue countable months toward their three-month
time limit the next full benefit month after the notification.
(4) Good cause shall include circumstances
beyond the individual's control, such as, but not limited to:
(a) Illness;
(b) Illness of another assistance group
member requiring the presence of the member;
(c) Assistance group emergency;
(d) The unavailability of
transportation;
(e) The lack of
adequate child care for children who have reached age six but are under age
twelve;
(f) Domestic violence as
outlined in paragraph (F) of this rule; or
(g) When an appropriate SNAP E&T
component is not available. This is not considered good cause from the
able-bodied adults without dependents work requirement.
(5) When the county agency determines that
good cause exists the individual shall be excused and a sanction shall not be
imposed.
(D) What is
good cause for leaving employment?
Good cause for leaving employment includes the good cause provisions outlined in paragraph (C) of this rule. Good cause for leaving employment also includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Discrimination by an employer based on
age, race, sex, color, handicap, religious beliefs, national origin or
political beliefs.
(2) Work demands
or conditions that render continued employment unreasonable, such as working
without being paid on schedule.
(3)
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.
(4) Resignations
by persons under the age of sixty that are recognized by the employer as
retirement.
(5) Employment that
becomes unsuitable, as specified in paragraph (E) of this rule, after the
acceptance of such employment.
(6)
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 does not meet the requirements provided for in paragraph (E)
(1) of this rule.
(7) 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 may not yet be available at the
new job site. Even though employment at the new site has not actually begun,
the quitting of the previous employment shall be considered good cause when it
is part of the pattern of that type of employment.
(8) 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, the county agency shall request verification of the
assistance group's statements. It is the assistance group's responsibility to
provide the necessary verification in accordance with rule
5101:4-2-09
of the Administrative Code. However, when the county agency has access to the
information needed it should be considered. When assistance in gathering the
information is needed, it must be provided. When good cause is questionable and
the assistance group fails or refuses to provide verification of the
questionable information, good cause shall not be determined.
(E) What is unsuitable employment?
(1) In addition to any criteria established
by county agencies, employment shall be considered unsuitable under any of the
following conditions:
(a) The wage offered is
less than the highest of:
(i) The applicable
federal or state minimum wage; or
(ii) 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, 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 required 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).
(F) What are the requirements for
victims of domestic violence?
Individuals who are victims of domestic violence as defined in rule 5101:1-3-20 of the Administrative Code shall be treated as follows:
(1) Individuals who are victims of domestic
violence shall be identified through the appraisal process in accordance with
rule
5101:4-3-29
of the Administrative Code.
(2)
When the county agency determines that the individual has been subjected to
domestic violence and requiring participation in SNAP E&T would make it
more difficult for the individual to escape domestic violence or unfairly
penalize the individual, the county agency may excuse the individual from the
employment and training program requirements, when supporting documentation as
described in paragraph (F)(1) of rule
5101:1-3-20
of the Administrative Code is provided.
(3) When an individual is assigned to and
engaged in an employment and training activity and fails to comply as a result
of domestic violence, the county agency shall excuse and shall not impose a
sanction for failure to comply with the SNAP E&T requirement.
(4) The county agency shall review the
continued eligibility of the excused non-participation at least once every six
months. The county agency may, at its option, review the individual's excused
non-participation more frequently than every six months. There is no limit on
the number of times (or length of time) that an excuse can be
extended.
Notes
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 5101.54
Rule Amplifies: 5101.54
Prior Effective Dates: 10/15/2009, 10/01/2013, 08/01/2015, 07/01/2017, 11/18/2021
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.