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NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance- TA and SNAP Employment Policy Manual

Section 385.13- Page 14 Rev. 3/2022 For SNAP, sanctions do not apply to individuals who have been working less than 30 hours per week and who reduce their work hours, (note: minimum wage equivalency does not apply when determining a reduction in work effort). Additionally, sanctions do not apply to individuals who were working less than 30 hours per week or earning less than 30 hours multiplied by the minimum wage and who quit a job. Examples of SNAP voluntary quit provisions:  Working 30 hours or more per week and quit = subject to sanction;  Working 30 hours or more per week and reduce to below 30 hours per week = subject to sanction (unless wages x hours worked are equal or greater than 30 hours x minimum wage);  Working 20 hours per week @ $15.00 per hour and quit = subject to sanction (due to minimum wage equivalency);  Working 20 hours per week @ $15.00 per hour and reduce to 12 hours of work per week = not subject to sanction;  Working 20 hours per week @ $7.25 per hour and quit = not subject to sanction. An individual who is exempt from work requirements cannot be sanctioned for voluntary quit or reduction of hours unless the sole reason they are exempt is due to working 30 hours or more per week (or earning the equivalent of 30 hours multiplied by minimum wage). Q.4 How does the date of the quit or reduction of hours relate to the sanction? A.4 If an applicant quits a job more than 30 days prior to applying for SNAP, the district does not make a determination of voluntary quit or reduction in hours. In the case of a recipient, a district may take action when it discovers the infraction, even if more than 30 days have elapsed. Q.5 Can a SNAP applicant or recipient be sanctioned for voluntary quit if the job was for less than 30 hours a week? A.5 A voluntary quit occurs if the individual quit a job where the employment involved 30 hours or more per week or provided weekly earnings at least equivalent to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours. It is possible that a SNAP applicant or recipient could be sanctioned for a voluntary quit if the job was for less than 30 hours weekly, as long as the weekly hours multiplied by the rate of pay was at least equivalent to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours. For example, and individual employed 25 hours per week earning $20 per hour will earn $500 weekly wages, which is higher than 30 hours multiplied by federal minimum wage ($217.50).