Penalty for voluntary termination of employment

Authority: IC 12-13-2-3 ; IC 12-13-5-3 ; IC 12-14-28-7

Affected: IC 12-13 ; IC 12-14-2-20

Sec. 2. (a) The amount of TANF assistance benefits for an applicant or recipient family, which includes an individual: (1) whose needs and income are considered in determining TANF assistance eligibility; and (2) who has, without good cause, voluntarily reduced hours of employment or quit a job of twenty (20) hours or more per week during the six (6) month period immediately preceding the date of application for TANF assistance or at any time thereafter; shall be calculated without consideration of the needs of that individual for a period of six (6) months from the date the individual quit or had a reduction in earnings.

(b) As used in this section, "good cause" means any of the following: (1) A substantiated incident of discrimination by any employer based on: (A) age; (B) race; (C) sex; (D) color; (E) handicap; (F) religious beliefs; (G) national origin; (H) political beliefs; or (I) marital status. (2) Work demands or conditions that render continued employment financially unacceptable, such as working without being paid on schedule. (3) Leaving a job in connection with patterns of employment in which workers frequently move from one (1) employer to another, such as: (A) migrant farm labor; or (B) construction work. (4) The individual quit to accept a bona fide job offer, which would result in increased earnings or benefits, with the approval of the division or designee. (5) The individual was unable to obtain or maintain necessary care for: (A) a dependent minor child; or (B) an incapacitated adult; residing in the home. (6) The employment site violates applicable state or federal health and safety standards.