Good Cause Criteria for Not Complying with the General Work Rules
Overview
Clients who do not qualify for an exemption from the General Work Rules may still have a valid reason for not following the General Work Rules. This is known as “good cause.” Good cause must only be explored for non-exempt clients who voluntarily quits a job or reduces their work hours. The User-entered Reason Job Ended verification outlined in the Voluntary Quit page explains the way the client can obtain verification of their good cause if a telephonic self-declaration is not able to be obtained at the time of the screening.
What is Considered Good Cause?
If a client is subject to the General Work Rules but fails to comply either at application or at anytime during the client’s certification period, you must determine if the client had good cause for not complying before enforcing a disqualification period. Good cause can be verified by the client’s written or telephonic self-declaration of the situation, unless the client’s statement is considered questionable.
Good cause includes circumstances beyond the member's control, such as, but not limited to:
- Child Care Is Unavailable
- Crisis of Emergency Situation
- Unreasonable Employment
- Unavailability of Transportation
Child Care Is Unavailable
If childcare is totally unavailable; or is unavailable during the individual’s hours of training or employment, including additional commuting time, this is considered good cause. Good cause also exists when arrangements for childcare have broken down or have been interrupted or when suitable childcare is unavailable for children with special needs.
However, if childcare services are otherwise available, the client may not refuse to utilize a childcare facility that provides suitable childcare within a reasonable distance from the client’s home.
Crisis or Emergency Situation
The client, a member of the client’s immediate family, or anyone whose relationship to the client makes it appropriate for the client to provide care or support during a crisis or emergency situation, suffers a family crisis or emergency situation or other circumstances, beyond the client’s control that:
- demands the client’s immediate attention;
- can only be attended to by the client; and
- can only be attended to by the client during the hours of their employment or work activity.
Crisis or emergency situations include, but are not limited to:
- a death;
- a health emergency;
- a child’s school problem.
Unreasonable Employment
The employment or offer of paid employment is at a wage level below:
- the state minimum wage; or
- 80 percent of the state minimum wage if the state minimum wage does not apply to the job. For example, some seasonal farm workers, babysitters, newspaper deliverers, etc. are exempt from the state minimum wage rate and may not make at least 80 percent of the state minimum wage rate. If the employment offer is less than 80 percent of the state minimum wage rate, it would be considered unreasonable employment standards.
The employment, offer of employment, or activity:
- discriminates in terms of age, sex, race, religion, ethnic origin, or physical or mental disability;
- is unavailable due to a strike or lockout;
- causes an unreasonable risk to health and safety;
- has working hours or the nature of the employment interferes with the client’s religious observances, convictions or beliefs; or
- where the employment would require travel time in excess of two hours, not including the time necessary to transport family members to a school or a place providing care, or, if walking, the round-trip distance is more than two hours.
Reminder: If a client has shown and verified good cause, you must note this on the Narrative tab.
Good Cause Reasons Specific to Voluntary Quit
Good cause for leaving employment includes the causes listed below as well as the good cause reasons previously listed above:
- work demands or conditions that make continued employment unreasonable, such as working without being paid on time;
- acceptance of other employment by the household member or enrollment at least half-time in any recognized school, training program or institution of higher education that requires the household member to leave employment;
- household member accepts a job offer which earns them at least $217.50 per week in gross, but because of circumstances beyond the household member’s control, the employment subsequently either does not materialize or results in employment that earns less than $217.50 per week in gross; and
- the leaving of employment by the household member 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 when households 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 must be considered as good cause if it is part of the pattern of that type of employment.
Reminder: If a client has shown and verified good cause, you must note this on the Narrative tab.
Unavailability of Transportation
The client loses their means of transportation which prevents them getting to and from work.
Eligible Noncitizens who are Not Authorized to Work in the United States
There are certain noncitizens that are eligible for SNAP that are not yet authorized to work in the United States. These noncitizens are typically Cuban/Haitian Entrants that may be waiting for their Work Authorization due to unprecedented USCIS backlogs, or may have come into the United States legally, but not permitted to work at all. These noncitizens may not meet any SNAP Work Rules exemptions but would not be able to comply with the SNAP Work Rules due to not being permitted to work.
Staff must screen these clients as usual and apply any exemptions the client has. However, if an eligible noncitizen without work authorization does not meet any exemptions, you must select Yes for the, “Is this individual a noncitizen who is not authorized to work in the US?” so that the client can receive the Good Cause condition and not be subject to the General and ABAWD Work Rules.
How Does the Client Verify Good Cause?
Good cause can be telephonically self-declared for the General Work Rules during the time of screening, unless the good cause reason is considered questionable. Please see the Voluntary Quit page for more information regarding when and how to request proof of good cause.