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S N A P M A N U A L

106 Minor variations in the number of hours worked or in the weekly minimum wage equivalent wages are inevitable and must be taken into consideration when assessing a recipient's compliance with SNAP work rules. (4) Determining whether a voluntary quit or reduction of work effort occurred

When a household files an application for participation, or when a participating household reports the loss of a source of income or a reduction in household earnings, the Agency must determine whether any household member voluntarily quit his or her job or reduced his or her work effort. Benefits must not be delayed beyond the normal processing times specified in Chapter 6 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Processing Standards pending the outcome of this determination. In the case of an applicant household, the Agency must determine if any household member subject to SNAP work requirements voluntarily quit his or her job or reduced his or her work effort within 60 days prior to the date of application. If the Agency is notified that a household has lost a source of income or experienced a reduction in income after the date of application but before the household is certified, the Agency must determine whether a voluntary quit or reduction in work effort occurred. Upon determining that an individual voluntarily quit employment or reduced work effort, the Agency must determine if the voluntary quit or reduction of work effort was with good cause as defined in Section 8.10 Good Cause for Failure to Comply with SNAP Work Requirements. In the case of an individual who is a member of an applicant household, if the voluntary quit or reduction in work effort was without good cause, the individual will be determined ineligible to participate and will be disqualified according to Section 8.6 Disqualification Periods for Failure to Comply with SNAP Work Requirements. The ineligible individual must be considered an ineligible household member (See Section 2.3 Ineligible Household Members). The disqualification is effective upon the determination of eligibility for the remaining household members. NOTE: When imposing a voluntary quit or a reduction in work disqualification for a one-person household, the case must be denied. When imposing a voluntary quit or a reduction in work disqualification for a household with multiple members, the non- compliant individual is disqualified. The non-compliant individual must be sanctioned for the appropriate time frame beginning with the date of application. When denying an application for voluntarily quit or reduced work effort, the Agency must provide the applicant household with a notice of denial (Section 6.3 Denying the Application). The notice must inform the household of the proposed period of disqualification, its right to reapply at the end of the disqualification period, and of its right to a fair hearing. The household's disqualification is effective upon the issuance of the notice of denial.