809 EXEMPTIONS FROM FOOD STAMP WORK REQUIREMENTS SR 00-38, 12/00 (FSM-A)

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EXEMPTIONS FROM WORK REGISTRATION

All food stamp applicants and recipients, aged 16 to 60, must be registered in the Job Search Program and participate in job search activities, unless they meet one of the following exemptions:

• the individual is under age 16;

• the individual is age 60 or older;

• the individual is age 16 or 17, and not head of household;

• the individual is age 16 or 17, head of household and attending school or a training program half-time or more;

• the individual is a student aged 18 or older, attending school or a training program half-time or more, who meets student eligibility conditions listed in Part 239; Students;

• the individual is employed or self employed and working a minimum of 30 hours weekly, or receiving weekly earnings at least equal to 30 hours multiplied by the federal minimum wage;

Exception: A self-employed individual who claims self-employment for three calendar years (36 months) must demonstrate a weekly net income of at least 30 hours times the federal minimum wage for 6 of the most recent 12 months.

The federal and state hourly minimum wage rate is $5.15.

Exceptions: Federal law permits a lower minimum wage to:

- Certain full time students, student learners, apprentices, and workers with disabilities under special certificates issued by the U.S. Department of Labor, and

- Employees under age 17, for the first 90 days of consecutive employment, may be paid an hourly minimum wage of $4.25;

• the individual is a regular participant in a drug or alcohol treatment and rehabilitation program;

• the individual is physically or mentally unfit for employment;

• the individual is responsible for the care of a child under age 6 or a disabled person living in the home;

- For an exemption due to the child’s age, the person must be the child's parent, foster parent, step parent, adoptive parent, guardian, adult with legal custody, or, when no parent resides in the household, a member of the household exercising parental control;

• the individual is a participant in the New Hampshire Employment Program (NHEP);

• the individual is entitled to NH Employment Security (NHES) unemployment insurance benefits—even if the benefits have not yet been received—as long as the individual is registered for work with NHES as part of the unemployment insurance process; and

• the individual is a migrant or seasonal farm worker under contract or similar agreement with an employer or crew chief to begin work within 30 days.

ABAWD individuals exempt from work registration are also exempt from ABAWD work requirements. See FSM 245.03, Criteria for Exemption from ABAWD Work Participation.

EXEMPTIONS FROM JOB SEARCH ACTIVITIES

Individuals may also be exempt from participating in job search activities if they meet any of the following criteria:

• the individual is job-attached, meaning he or she reasonably expects to return to a former employer within 60 days;

• the individual is at least 4 months pregnant;

• the individual is a refugee who does not yet have a social security number and is not allowed by law to work;

• the individual lives in an excessively remote area, defined as a place so remote that participating in job search activities would necessitate traveling more than 2 hours round-trip from home, not including travel time for child care;

• the individual has been transferred to the Family Assistance Program (FAP) from NHEP for the reasons described in FAM 808.05, Exemptions from Participation in NHEP; or

• the individual is at least age 21 and in the same food stamp household as a minor parent (under age 18) who has a child under age 6. When providing an exemption for this reason, both of the following apply:

- the exempted individual may be related to the minor parent, such as a parent or cousin, or unrelated, such as a foster parent or boyfriend; and

- only one adult in the household may seek an exemption for this reason.

Exception: Exemption from participating in job search activities does not exempt ABAWD individuals from ABAWD work requirements.

Review each individual’s status to see if they are exempt from work registration or job search requirements at application, redetermination, and when the individual reports a change.