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IMA POLICY MANUAL
PART V: PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND SANCTIONS
Chapter 1: WORK REQUIREMENTS
Comparable Employment 1.9.3
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Any employment that pays at least applicable minimum wage and provides at least 20 hours per week of employment is deemed to be comparable. |
Suitable Employment 1.9.4
| BOTH |
Unsuitable employment can be refused (or quit) without penalty. Employment is considered unsuitable if it meets any one of the following criteria:
- The wage offered is less than the highest of:
- The applicable federal minimum wage,
- The applicable District minimum wage, or
- 80 percent of the federal minimum wage if neither the federal nor the District minimum wage is applicable;
- employment is offered on a piece-rate basis and the average hourly wage the employee can reasonably expect to earn is less than the applicable hourly minimum wage;
- the household member is required to join, resign from, or refrain from joining any legitimate labor organization in order to be hired or to continue working ;
- the work offered is at a site subject to a strike or lockout at the time of the offer unless the strike has been enjoined under Section 208 of the Labor-Management Relations Act (Taft-Hartley) or unless an injunction has been issued under Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act
- there is a reasonable risk to health and safety ;
- the member is physically or mentally unfit to perform the employment as documented by medical evidence or by reliable information from other sources;
- the employment offered within the first 30 days of FSET work program participation is not in the group member's field of experience; or
- the distance from the group member's home to the place of employment is unreasonable based on the expected wage and the time and cost of commuting;
Daily commuting time must not exceed two hours per day, not including the transportation of a child to and from the child care facility. Employment also will not be considered suitable if the distance to the place of employment prohibits walking to the job site and both public and private transportation are unavailable for getting to the job site.
- the working hours or nature of the employment interferes with the member's religious observance, convictions, or beliefs; and
- accepting work may result in domestic violence (see Section 3.8: Domestic Violence in Part VIII)
| Mr. Taylor is a Sabbatarian and refuses to work on Saturday. His religious observance will not affect his eligibility, and he is not required to accept a job with Saturday hours. | |
Notice of Adverse Action for Voluntary Quit/Reducing Work Effort without
Good Cause 1.9.5
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If a determination of voluntary quit without good cause is made, a notice of adverse action shall be sent (see Chapter 10: Notice of Adverse Action in Part VIII). The sanction cannot be effective until at least 15 days after the date of the notice.
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Verification of Exemption from Work Activities 1.10.1
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The exemption categories discussed in Section 1.6: Exemptions from Work Requirements in this Chapter require the following types of verification.
- If a person claims to be exempt by reason of employment or self-employment for at least 30 hours per week, verification of the amount of income received from such employment is sufficient to establish the exemption, provided the amount of income appears to be consistent with employment for 30 hours a week under the general conditions prevailing in the community.
However, if the individual does not meet this test but still claims to be self-employed, then s/he must cooperate with the SSR in establishing that the income received from the self-employment enterprise is at least sufficient to be considered gainful employment and the volume of work claimed justifies a determination that the self-employment enterprise is a full-time job for the purpose of this exemption. Factors to be considered, while not all inclusive, are:
- Does the wage meet the DC or federal minimum wage?
- Have deductions of required mandatory amounts for federal and/or state income taxes, Social Security tax, and so on been made by the employer or individual?
- Does the employer or individual pay Unemployment Insurance premiums on behalf of the individual?
- If a parent and another member of the group both claim to be the responsible caretaker for the care of the same dependent child or incapacitated adult, the actual responsibility should be determined by discussion with the applicant. The SSR should require documentation of the incapacity of the person requiring the caretaker.
- Individuals claiming unfitness for work requirements for physical, mental or addiction reasons who do not currently receive disability-related benefits must receive a medical examination to verify their condition. If the person is requesting exemption form TANF work requirements, the MRT will make the final determination of fitness and determine whether an exemption should be granted or whether the case should be converted to POWER. If the person is requesting exemption from Food Stamp work requirements, the SSR or FSET program staff may grant an exemption if the person’s medical provider indicates inability to work.
- A VISTA or Americorps volunteer must provide a copy of his/her contract for verification.
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| TANF |
Monitoring of teen parent school attendance is handled by the Teen Parent Unit which is run by the D.C. Public Schools. Proof of school attendance should be provided to the Unit within 45 days after application/recertification.
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| FS |
Eligibility for and receipt of benefits from SSI is evidence of unemployability. In the case of an SSI household containing an 'essential person,' (see Section 1.6: Essential Person in Part IV), individual situations must be examined to determine whether the essential person should be work registered. In addition, receipt of disability payments under the Social Security Program, Veterans Benefits, or OASDI will be considered proof of unfitness for employment for purposes of this exemption.
Other individuals claiming an unfitness exemption should, in the absence of physical evidence, furnish verification which can substantiate such unfitness or documentary evidence which supports the claim. Appropriate verification may consist of receipt of temporary or permanent disability benefits issued by governmental or private sources or a completed medical evaluation form from a physician or licensed or certified psychologist that must be submitted to the MRT. Adequate documentation should appear in the case file to support the granting of this exemption. Receipt of Worker's Compensation may indicate temporary disability.
If an addiction exemption is questionable, the regular participation of an addict or alcoholic in a drug or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program will be verified through the organization or institution operating the program. If collateral contact or verification is completed by means other than in writing, a notation of how and with whom participation was verified should be entered into the case file.
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