46-299

46-299. Jobs program; definition

A. As a condition of eligibility or continuing eligibility for cash assistance, all
recipients shall engage in work activities that are established in this article and
determined appropriate by the department. A disabled individual shall engage in work
activities as required by this subsection unless the disabled individual provides the
department verification of a condition that meets disability or temporary disability
criteria established by the department. The following individuals are temporarily
deferred from the requirement to engage in work activities:

1. A parent in a single parent family or a nonparent relative personally caring for
a child who is under the age of twelve months for a period of not more than twelve months
in the recipient's lifetime. This deferral does not apply to teenaged custodial parents
who do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent.

2. An unmarried custodial parent who is under eighteen years of age and who is
personally caring for a child who is under the age of twelve weeks.

3. An individual who provides verification acceptable to the department that the
individual is personally caring for the individual's dependent who is disabled and unable
to care for himself.

4. Victims of domestic violence whose participation in work activities causes an
immediate threat to their own safety or the safety of their children.

5. Dependent children as defined in this article.

B. To the extent that the state meets the federally required work participation
rates, unmarried custodial parents may attend a postsecondary educational program full
time in lieu of standard work participation requirements. The department may require
additional work activities.

C. Teenaged heads of household who are under twenty years of age and who have not
attained their high school diploma or its equivalent are required to either:

1. Maintain satisfactory attendance at a secondary school or the equivalent.

2. Satisfactorily participate in education directly related to employment at the
level of participation established by the department.

D. The department may establish the minimum work participation level required to
meet the work requirements established in Public Law 104-193, section 407 (1996).

E. All cash assistance recipients, excluding dependent children, shall complete a
personal responsibility declaration.

F. All cash assistance recipients, excluding dependent children complying with
compulsory school requirements as prescribed in section 15-803, shall also participate in
the development of an employment plan and shall receive services in support of and as
specified in that plan.

G. Participants who fail or refuse to engage in work activities as required by the
department are subject to the progressive sanctions prescribed in section 46-300.

H. The department shall adopt rules that establish good cause reasons that excuse
the participant from engaging in work activities.

I. This state shall provide workers' compensation coverage for cash assistance
recipients engaged in unpaid work experience or community service programs as established
in this article. The cost shall be paid from the temporary assistance for needy families
monies.

J. The department may operate on a statewide basis a wage subsidy program.
Employers may hire recipients of cash assistance and food stamps for subsidized job slots
that are full time and that offer a reasonable possibility of unsubsidized employment
after the subsidy period. This program shall provide that:

1. Employers who operate an approved wage subsidy program shall receive a subsidy
for up to six months. The department may grant an extension of three months to employers
operating in areas identified as having a higher unemployment rate than the state
average, as defined by the department, if the extension increases the likelihood of
ongoing unsubsidized employment for the subsidized employee.

2. The department shall ensure that subsidized jobs made available to subsidized
employees:

(a) Do not require work in excess of forty hours per week.

(b) Pay a wage that is substantially like the wage paid for similar jobs with the
employer with appropriate adjustments for experience and training but not less than the
federal minimum hourly wage.

(d) Do not displace currently employed workers or fill positions that are vacant
due to a layoff.

3. Wage subsidy employers shall:

(a) Maintain health, safety and working conditions at or above levels generally
acceptable in the industry and not less than those of comparable jobs offered by the
employer.

(b) Provide on-the-job training necessary for subsidized employees to perform their
duties.

(c) Sign an agreement for each placement outlining the specific job offered to a
subsidized employee and agree to abide by all of the requirements of the program. All
agreements shall contain a provision that sets forth the employer's responsibility to
repay subsidies paid under this article if the employer violates program requirements.

(d) Provide workers' compensation coverage for each subsidized employee they
employ.

(e) Provide the subsidized employee with benefits equal to those for new employees
or as required by state and federal law, whichever is greater. For purposes of this
paragraph, "benefits" includes health care coverage, paid sick leave and holiday and
vacation pay.

4. Eligible subsidized employees are those who:

(a) Do not have sufficient work experience to obtain unsubsidized employment.

(b) Have completed an employment preparation program.

5. The department shall:

(a) Disregard income earned by the subsidized employee in the subsidized job when
determining the household's eligibility for cash assistance and food stamps.

(b) Suspend regular payments of cash assistance and food stamps to the household at
the end of the calendar month in which an employer makes the first subsidized wage
payment to a subsidized employee who is otherwise eligible to receive the cash assistance
and food stamps.

(c) Reimburse employers each month, from cash assistance and food stamps, the
lesser of a fixed subsidy amount determined by the department or the gross wages paid to
the subsidized employee.

(d) Determine eligibility for supplemental payments as follows:

(i) If the net monthly full-time wage paid to a subsidized employee is less than
the combined monthly total of the cash assistance and food stamps the participant is
eligible to receive, the department shall authorize issuance of a supplemental cash
payment to compensate for the deficit. To determine if a deficit exists, the department
shall adopt, through rules, an equivalency scale that is adjustable to household size and
other factors. For purposes of this section, "net monthly full-time wage" refers to a
participant's wages after required payroll deductions.

(ii) The department shall monthly determine and pay in advance supplemental payments
to eligible subsidized employees. In calculating the payment, the department shall assume
that the participant will work forty hours per week during the month unless an employer
provides information that the number of hours to be worked by a subsidized employee will
be reduced.

K. For purposes of this section, "subsidized employee" means an individual engaged
in this subsidized employment activity.