441—65.28 (234) Work requirements.
	 65.28(1) Persons required to register. Each household member who is not exempt by subrule 65.28(2) shall be registered for employment at the time of application, and once every 12 months after initial registration, as a condition of eligibility. Registration is accomplished when the applicant signs an application form that contains a statement that all members in the household who are required to register for work are willing to register for work. This signature registers all members of that food assistance household that are required to register.
	 65.28(2) Exemptions from work registration. The following persons are exempt from the work registration requirement:
	  a.   	 A person younger than 16 years of age or a person 60 years of age or older. A person aged 16 or 17 who is not a head of a household or who is attending school, or is enrolled in an employment training program on at least a half-time basis is exempt.
	  b.   	 A person physically or mentally unfit for employment.
	  c.   	 A household member subject to and complying with any work requirement under Title IV of the Social Security Act including mandatory PROMISE JOBS referral.
	  d.   	 A parent or other household member who is responsible for the care of a dependent child under age six or an incapacitated person.
	  e.   	 A person receiving unemployment compensation.
	  f.   	 A regular participant in a drug addiction or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation program which is certified by the Iowa department of public health, division of substance abuse.
	  g.   	 A person who is employed or self-employed and working a minimum of 30 hours weekly or receiving weekly earnings at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours.
	  h.   	 A student enrolled at least half-time in any recognized school, recognized training program, or an institution of higher education (provided that students have met the requirements of federal regulation, Title 7, Part 273.5, as amended to December 31, 1986).
	 65.28(3) Losing exempt status. Persons who lose exempt status due to any change in circumstances that is subject to the reporting requirements shall register for employment when the change is reported. Persons who lose exempt status due to a change in circumstances that is not subject to the reporting requirements for that household shall register for employment no later than at the household’s next recertification.
	 65.28(4) Registration process. Upon reaching a determination that an applicant or a member of the applicant’s household is required to register, the pertinent work requirements, the rights and responsibilities of work-registered household members, and the consequences of failure to comply shall be explained to the applicant. A written statement of the above shall be provided to each registrant in the household. The written statement shall also be provided at recertification and when a previously exempt member or a new household member becomes subject to work registration.
Registration for all nonexempt household members required to work register is accomplished when the applicant or recipient signs an application, recertification, or reporting form containing an affirmative response to the question, “Do all members who are required to work register and participate in job search agree to do so?” or similarly worded statement.
	 65.28(5) Deregistration. Work registrants who obtain employment or otherwise become exempt from the work requirement subsequent to registration or who are no longer certified for participation are no longer considered registered.
	 65.28(6) Work registrant requirements. Work registrants shall respond to a request from the department or its designee for supplemental information regarding employment status or availability for work.
	 65.28(7) Employment and training program.
	  a.   	 The employment and training program for food assistance recipients is designed to assist:
	 (1) 	 Persons who have lost jobs or are underemployed and who need new skills in order to reenter the workplace because there are no jobs available for which the persons are trained.
	 (2) 	 Persons who have been out of the workforce for a period of time to regain licensure or certification in an area in which they are already trained.
	 (3) 	 Persons who wish to upgrade their employment for better wages and benefits.
	  b.   	 The department or its designee shall serve as the provider of employment and training services for food assistance recipients who wish to volunteer, except for those who are also recipients of family investment program (FIP) benefits. Federal law prohibits FIP recipients from participating in any food assistance employment and training program.
	  c.   	 The program offers a range of services from basic skills to advanced training in order to accommodate persons with various levels of need and abilities. The department or its designee may require a volunteer to engage in vocational testing activities when deemed necessary to determine if a component is appropriate for improving the volunteer’s opportunity for employment.
	 65.28(8) Employment and training components. Employment and training components include individual job search, job club, educational services, and job retention services. The department or its designee shall offer employment and training components subject to the availability of sufficient funding to cover program costs. Availability of components may vary among the areas where employment and training are offered.
	  a.   	 Individual job search. The individual job search shall be modeled after the family investment program’s PROMISE JOBS individual job search component, as described at 441—subrule 93.6(2).
	  b.   	 Job club. The employment and training job club shall be modeled after the family investment program’s PROMISE JOBS job club, as described at 441—subrule 93.6(1).
	  c.   	 Educational services. Educational services offered shall include general educational development (GED), adult basic education (ABE), English as a second language (ESL), and vocational training or educational opportunities limited to a two-year college degree. Educational services may include, but are not limited to, obtaining continuing education credit hours needed for a recipient to become recertified or to renew licensure for a profession.
	  d.   	 Job retention services. Job retention services are intended to provide needed assistance with costs associated with beginning employment. Services are available only to persons who have received employment or training services under this subrule. Job retention services will be offered up to 90 days after the person secures employment. Services may include payment of:
	 (1) 	 A transportation allowance of $50 per month for round-trip travel of 50 miles or less or $100 per month for round-trip travel of 51 miles or more.
	 (2) 	 The cost of testing, certification, licensing, bonding, or legal services required for employment.
	 (3) 	 The cost of equipment, tools, uniforms, or other special clothing required by the job.
	 (4) 	 Other reasonable and necessary costs related to starting and retaining employment.
	 65.28(9) Exemptions from employment and training programs. Rescinded IAB 5/5/10, effective 4/15/10.
	 65.28(10) Time spent in an employment and training program. Rescinded IAB 5/5/10, effective 4/15/10.
	 65.28(11) Supportive services. Program participants shall be provided with services necessary to complete an employment and training component to the extent allowable under federal regulations at 7 CFR 237.7(e)(4) as amended to January 1, 2009, and to the extent there is sufficient funding to cover the costs.
	  a.   	 The department shall provide participants in employment and training components an allowance for costs of transportation or other costs reasonably necessary and directly related to participation in the components as follows:
	 (1) 	 A transportation allowance of $50 per month for round-trip travel of 50 miles or less or $100 per month for round-trip travel of 51 miles or more.
	 (2) 	 Reasonable and necessary costs of attending a specific course of study, such as tuition, books, fees, training manuals, tools, equipment, uniforms and special clothing, safety items, and other items that all students in the course are required to have.
	  b.   	 The department may authorize the employment and training service provider to reimburse the provider of care directly for the costs of dependent care expenses that the employment and training service provider determines to be necessary for the participation of a person in the components.
	 (1) 	 Reimbursement for dependent care shall be authorized only to the extent that another source is not available to provide the care at no cost to the employment and training program and shall be based on the child care assistance program reimbursement rates as described at 441—paragraph 170.4(7)“a.”
	 (2) 	 The caretaker relative of a dependent in a family receiving FIP is not eligible for the dependent care reimbursement.
	 65.28(12) Failure to comply. This subrule applies only to persons who are mandatory work registrants as required by subrule 65.28(1).
	  a.   	 When a person has refused or failed without good cause to comply with the work registration requirements in this rule, that person shall be ineligible to participate in the food assistance program as follows:
	 (1) 	 First violation: The later of (1) the date the individual complies with the requirement; or (2) two months.
	 (2) 	 Second violation: The later of (1) the date the individual complies with the requirement; or (2) three months.
	 (3) 	 Third and subsequent violations: The later of (1) the date the individual complies with the requirement; or (2) six months.
	  b.   	 The disqualification period shall begin with the first month following the expiration of the adverse notice period, unless a fair hearing is requested.
	 65.28(13) Noncompliance with comparable requirements. The department shall treat a mandatory work registrant’s failure to comply with an unemployment compensation requirement that is comparable to a food assistance work registration requirement as a failure to comply with the corresponding food assistance requirement. Disqualification procedures in subrule 65.28(12) shall be followed.
	 65.28(14) Ending disqualification. Following the end of the disqualification periods for noncompliance and as provided in rules 441—65.27(234) and 441—65.28(234), participation may resume.
	  a.   	 An applicant disqualified under subrule 65.27(1) may be approved for benefits after serving the minimum disqualification period and complying with the work requirement, as follows:
	 (1) 	 If the applicant voluntarily quit a job, the applicant must obtain a job comparable to the one that the applicant quit.
	 (2) 	 If the applicant voluntarily reduced hours of employment to less than 30 hours per week, the applicant must start working 30 or more hours per week.
	  b.   	 A disqualified individual who is a member of a currently participating eligible household shall be added to the household after the minimum disqualification period has been served and the person has complied with the failed requirement as follows:
	 (1) 	 If the member failed or refused to register for work with the department, the member complies by registering.
	 (2) 	 If the member voluntarily quit a job, the member must obtain a job comparable to the one quit.
	 (3) 	 If the member voluntarily reduced hours of employment to less than 30 hours per week, the member must start working 30 or more hours per week.
	  c.   	 An individual may reestablish eligibility during a disqualification period by becoming exempt from the work requirement as provided in subrule 65.28(2).
	 65.28(15) Suitable employment. Employment shall be considered unsuitable if:
	  a.   	 The wage offered is less than the highest of the applicable federal minimum wage, the applicable state minimum wage, or 80 percent of the federal minimum wage if neither the federal nor state minimum wage is applicable.
	  b.   	 The employment offered is on a piece-rate basis and the average hourly yield the employee can reasonably be expected to earn is less than the applicable hourly wages specified in paragraph “a” above.
	  c.   	 The household member, as a condition of employment or continuing employment, is required to join, resign from, or refrain from joining a legitimate labor organization.
	  d.   	 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 (29 U.S.C. 78A) (commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act), or unless an injunction has been issued under Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 160).
	  e.   	 The household member involved can demonstrate or the department otherwise becomes aware that:
	 (1) 	 The degree of risk to health and safety is unreasonable.
	 (2) 	 The member is physically or mentally unfit to perform the employment, as documented by medical evidence or by reliable information from other sources.
	 (3) 	 The employment offered within the first 30 days of registration is not in the member’s major field of experience.
	 (4) 	 The distance from the member’s home to the place of employment is unreasonable considering the expected wage and the time and cost of commuting. Employment shall not be considered suitable if daily commuting time exceeds two hours per day, not including the transporting of a child to and from a child care facility. Employment shall also not be considered suitable if the distance to the place of employment prohibits walking and neither public nor private transportation is available to transport the member to the job site.
	 (5) 	 The working hours or nature of the employment interferes with the member’s religious observances, convictions, or beliefs.
	 65.28(16) Applicants for supplemental security income (SSI) and food assistance. Household members who are jointly applying for SSI and for food assistance shall have the requirements for work registration waived until:
	  a.   	 They are determined eligible for SSI and thereby become exempt from work registration, or
	  b.   	 They are determined ineligible for SSI whereupon a determination of work registration status will be made.
	 65.28(17) Determining good cause. The department or its designee shall determine whether good cause exists for failure to comply with the work registration, employment and training, and voluntary quit requirements in 441—Chapter 65. In determining whether good cause exists, the facts and circumstances shall be considered, including information submitted by the household member involved and the employer.
Good cause shall include circumstances beyond the member’s control, such as, but not limited to, illness of the registrant or of another household member requiring the presence of the registrant, a household emergency, the unavailability of transportation, or the lack of adequate child care for children who have reached age 6 but are under age 12.
	 65.28(18) Measuring the three-year period for able-bodied nonexempt adults without dependents. The three-year period as provided for in federal regulations at 7 CFR 273.24 as amended to June 19, 2002, starts on December 1, 2002, and ends November 30, 2005. Subsequent three-year periods start with the month of December following the end of the previous period.
	 65.28(19) Mini-simplified food assistance program.
	  a.   	 Scope. The department operates a mini-simplified food assistance program for households that:
	 (1) 	 Also receive benefits under the family investment program; and
	 (2) 	 Include a parent who is exempt from food assistance requirements for work registration due to caring for a child under the age of six.
	  b.   	 Effect. The mini-simplified food assistance program allows replacement of certain food assistance program work rules with work rules of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program. The value of the household’s monthly food assistance benefits shall be combined with the household’s monthly family investment program benefit amount to determine the maximum number of hours the department can require a household member under the family investment program to participate in an unpaid work activity that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Maximum required hours of participation for a month are determined by dividing the total amount of benefits by the state or federal minimum wage, whichever wage is higher.
[ARC 8500B, IAB 2/10/10, effective 3/1/10; ARC 8712B, IAB 5/5/10, effective 4/15/10]