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ESA SNAP Policy Manual 118 If the applicant voluntarily quit or reduced work hours without good cause, ESA will disqualify the customer for a disqualification period as described in Section 9.3, SNAP Recipient Work Requirements. Example Mr. Wright applies for SNAP on January 1 as a single household. Mr. Wright is not exempt from work registration or SNAP work requirements. As part of the income verification process, Mr. Wright provides weekly pay stubs covering the 30 days prior to application. The first two pay stubs indicate Mr. Wright is working 30 hours a week at minimum wage. The last two pay stubs indicate Mr. Wright is only working 20 hours per week at minimum wage. The last two pay stubs show a reduction in work hours to less than 30 hours a week. Mr. Wright may have voluntarily reduced his work hours without good cause within 60 days prior to the application. First, the SSR determines if the current weekly wage is less than the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 for the last two pay stubs. If so, the SSR reviews the circumstances to determine whether Mr. Wright had good cause for his reduction in work hours. During the interview, the SSR explores why Mr. Wright’s hours were reduced. Mr. Wright indicates his employer cut hours because the holiday season had ended. The SSR contacts Mr. Wright’s employer to verify the reason for the reduction in hours. In this situation, the reduction in hours was employer-caused because the holiday season had ended. Mr. Wright did not voluntarily reduce his hours and had good cause for the reduction in work hours in the 60 days prior to the application. The SSR does not apply a sanction to Mr. Wright’s benefits.

If an applicant is part of a multiperson household, the disqualified applicant is considered an ineligible household member. The disqualification starts when ESA determines eligibility for the remaining household members. 9.3.3.4 Voluntary Quit or Reduction of Work Hours for Ongoing Households If ESA determines that a customer has voluntarily quit a job or reduced work hours without good cause while receiving SNAP, the person will be ineligible to participate in SNAP for the disqualification period as described in Section 9.3, SNAP Recipient Work Requirements, after ESA sends a Notice of Adverse Action for the disqualification. If a nonexempt adult in the SNAP household fails to meet SNAP work requirements, ESA will determine whether they had good cause for not meeting these requirements. Good cause reasons include the following:  Personal illness  Illness of another household member that requires the customer to be there or provide care  Lack of adequate childcare for children who are at least age 6 but under age 12  Lack of available transportation  A household emergency such as a death in the family Return