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Title 7: SNAP Page 25 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter C: Nonfinancial Eligibility Strikers Revised September 27, 2024

Strikers Legal reference: 7 CFR 273.1(e), 441 IAC 65.17(234) Policy: Special procedures apply to households that have a member who is on strike. Procedure: Processing an application from a household in which one or more of the members may be on strike is a three-step process. 1. Determine if the person is a striker. If a household member is not considered a striker, no special procedures apply. The following people are not considered strikers:  A person affected by a lockout. A lockout occurs when an employer closes the workplace in order to resist demands of employees.  A person who goes on strike who was exempt from the work registration requirements the day before the strike. (This provision does not apply to people who were exempt from work registration only because they are employed.)  A person unable to work as a result of striking employees (e.g., truck drivers left with nothing to deliver).  A person who is not participating in a strike. A person is not participating in a strike if the person meets all of the following conditions: • The person is not picketing and does not intend to picket during the strike, • The person does not draw strike pay, and • The person either crosses the picket line and goes to work or provides a signed statement indicating the person is willing to return to work but does not want to cross the picket line for fear of injury, death, or trauma from harassment. The service area manager determines if such a risk to the person’s physical or emotional well-being exists. 2. If a household member is considered a striker, determine if the household would have been eligible the day before the strike occurred. Use the household membership on which current eligibility will be based. If the household would not have been eligible, deny the application. 3. If the household would have been eligible before the strike and is otherwise eligible at the time of application:  Compare the striker’s income before the strike to the striker’s current income.  Add the higher of the two amounts to the current income of non-striking members during the month of application. Continue to count income according to this method for each month in which a member is on strike. The higher amount is used because households cannot receive an increased allotment because of a decrease in the income of the striking members of the household.