Section 144-301-100-FS 111-6 - Job Quit and Voluntary Reduction in Work Effort1. DISQUALIFICATION PROVISIONSA.Disqualifying ActionWhen any of the following individuals has voluntarily and without good cause quit a job of 20 hours or more per week or that provided weekly earnings at least equivalent to the state or federal minimum wage (whichever is higher) multiplied by 20 hours or voluntarily and without good cause reduced their work effort (and, after the reduction, are working less than 30 hours a week), that individual is not qualified to receive SNAP:
(1) A household member not exempt from work registration (See Section 111-5);(2) A household member who is only exempt from work registration (See Section 111-5) based on being subject to and complying with a TANF work requirement; or(3) A household member who is only exempt from work registration (See Section 111-5) based on working an average of thirty or more hours per week or, if working fewer than 30 hours is earning an average of the weekly equivalent of thirty hours at the federal hourly minimum wage. For applicant households, the job quit and voluntary reduction in work effort disqualification applies only if the violation occurred within 60 days prior to the application date.
B.Start Date of DisqualificationFor applicant households, the start date is the day of the job quit or voluntary reduction in work effort. For households receiving SNAP benefits, the start date is the first of the month after normal procedures for closing or removal of the individual have taken place. Should a fair hearing delay the implementation, the period starts the first of the month following a decision upholding the Department's decision.
C.Disqualification Penalties and Ending DisqualificationUnless the member who was in violation becomes exempt for a reason other than TANF or PaS or UIB status, the disqualification period continues until the disqualified member gets a new job with comparable salary or hours or, if disqualified for voluntary reduction in work effort, resumes working or gets a new job with at least 30 hours a week. The person is also disqualified for a period not less than one month for the first violation, three months for the second violation, and six months for the third violation which occurred 8/22/96 or later.
D.Good CauseGood cause for leaving employment includes the good cause provisions found in Section 111-5 and resigning from a job that does not meet the suitability criteria specified in Section 111-5.
Good cause shall also include, but not be limited to:
(1) Discrimination by an employer based on age, race, sex, color, disabling condition, religious beliefs, national origin or political beliefs.(2) Work demands or conditions that render continued employment unreasonable. An example would be not being paid on schedule.(3) Acceptance of employment or enrollment of at least half time in a recognized school, training program, or institution of higher learning that requires the head of household to leave employment.(4) Acceptance by any other household member of employment or enrollment in a recognized school, training program, or in another area which requires the household to move and thereby requires the head of household to leave employment.(5) Resignations which are recognized by the employer as retirement.(6) Employment which becomes unsuitable as specified in Section 111-5. (7) Acceptance of a bona fide offer of employment of more than 20 hours a week (or the equivalent of 20 hours times the state or federal minimum wage, whichever is higher) and the job either doesn't materialize or ends up less than the 20 hours a week criteria.(8) Leaving a job in connection with patterns of employment where workers frequently move from one employer to another. A couple of examples are migrant farm laborers and construction workers. A government employee who is dismissed because of participating in a strike is considered to have quit without good cause.
2.ENDING DISQUALIFICATIONA. The disqualification ends the day the disqualified member becomes exempt from work registration requirements for a reason other than being a TANF or unemployment compensation work registrant.B. If the disqualified household member gets a new job with salary or hours greater than or equal to those of the job they quit or, if disqualified for voluntary reduction in work effort, resumes working at least 30 hours a week, that member's disqualification ends the later of the date that they resumed work or- (1) the date that is one month after the date the individual became ineligible, for the first work requirement violation;(2) the date that is three months after the date the individual became ineligible, for the second work requirements violation; or(3) the date that is six months after the date the individual became ineligible, for the third or subsequent work requirements violation.10-144 C.M.R. ch. 301, § 100-FS 111-6