535.5 Voluntary Job Quit and Reducing Work Effort

A voluntary quit is the termination of employment, without good cause, due to personal choice. A voluntary quit does not include:   7 CFR § 273.7(j)

Any federal, state or local government employee who participates in a strike and is dismissed because of the participation is considered to have voluntarily quit the job without good cause.

Voluntary quit applies to any employed household member who would not meet an exemption.

Reducing work effort is voluntarily reducing the number of hours an individual works if, after the reduction, the person is working less than 30 hours per week or earning wages not equal to the Federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours.

The CAO will determine whether a household member voluntarily quit a job or reduced work effort:

535.51 Verification of Job Quit or Reduction of Hours

The CAO will only verify questionable information. Acceptable sources of verification include a previous employer, employee association, union representative and grievance committee or organization.   7 CFR § 273.7(j)

Verification is primarily the responsibility of the household and may be obtained by collateral contact with a person chosen by the household if documentation is not available.

NOTE:  The CAO will not deny SNAP benefits because of lack of verification if the circumstances cannot be verified. The case record narrative shall be documented to reflect the attempts made to obtain verification.

Reissued December 22, 2010,  replacing April 19, 2001