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Page 103 of 202 § 10:90-10.6 Eligibility

the county agency and intended to have a definite short-term (less than one year) employment objective. (f) Provisions concerning voluntary termination of employment are as follows: 1. For a new applicant, for the 30 consecutive calendar days immediately prior to receiving aid, an employable refugee shall not have voluntarily terminated employment in order to receive assistance, nor have refused to apply for or accept an appropriate job offer. 2. Employable refugees currently receiving assistance shall not have voluntarily terminated employment in order to continue to receive assistance nor refuse to apply for or accept offers of appropriate work or training. (g) Refusal of an employable adult refugee recipient to accept or continue an employment or training opportunity without good cause will result in the following actions: 1. A mediation period prior to the imposition of sanctions shall be provided for in accordance with the following time limitations: i. The mediation effort shall begin as soon as possible, but not later than 10 days following the date of failure or refusal to participate, and may continue for a period not to exceed 30 days. 2. If the employable refugee recipient continues to refuse an offer of employment or training, assistance shall be terminated 30 days after the date of his or her original refusal. Either the county agency or the recipient may terminate this period sooner when either believes that the dispute cannot be resolved by mediation. The refugee shall be given at least 10 days written notice of the termination of assistance and the reason therefore. This sanction shall be applied in the following manner: i. If the assistance unit includes other individuals, then the assistance payment shall be reduced by the per capita share of the refugee in noncompliance. If the employable refugee is a caretaker relative, assistance in the form of protective or vendor payment shall be provided to the remaining members of the assistance unit. ii. If such individual is the only individual in the assistance unit, assistance shall be terminated. (1) The refugee's sponsor, or the voluntary resettlement agency where there is not a sponsor, shall be notified of the action taken in (g)2i or ii above. iii. A decision by the refugee to accept employment or training, made at any time within the 30-day period after the date of the original refusal, shall result in the continuation of assistance without interruption if the refugee continues to meet the income eligibility requirements for continued assistance. iv. Refugees who refuse, without good cause, to accept or continue in an employment or training opportunity shall be subject to the following penalties of ineligibility: (1) Three payment-months for the first such refusal; and