808.33 Conciliation Process SR 00-08, 02/00 (FAM-A)

Conciliation is the process for resolving disputes related to a participant’s failure to the meet NHEP work requirements.

Conciliation Process for Mandatory and Voluntary Participants

The conciliation process must be followed for:

• mandatory NHEP participants;

• voluntary NHEP participants who request to participate within the 3 month disqualification period following an act of non-compliance, and

• NHEP applicants or recipients who voluntarily quit or refuse to accept employment.

Notification of Non-Compliance

When an NHEP participant fails to comply with an NHEP requirement, official notification is sent to inform the participant of the:

• specific act of non-compliance;

• opportunity to claim a good cause reason for failure to meet the NHEP program requirement;

• action required by the individual to remove the sanction;

• availability of a conciliation meeting with a supervisor (or designee) to show evidence of compliance or substantiation of good cause for non-compliance;

• participant’s right to bring a representative of his/her choosing to the conciliation meeting; and

• right to a fair hearing.

Conditions for Sanctioning

A sanction is applied under any of the following circumstances:

• the participant does not contact the NHEP team within 15 days of the date of the official notification of noncompliance (or the verified postmark date of the notice as supplied by the individual) to schedule a conciliation meeting;

• the participant does not participate in the conciliation meeting within 30 days of the date of the official notification of noncompliance; or

• the supervisor (or designee) determines, as a result of the conciliation conference, that the individual did not have good cause for non-compliance, and has notified the individual in writing of the good cause decision.