Basic Food Work Requirements - Unsuitable Employment and Quitting a Job
DSHS Home Page
 
Search     for:
DSHS Home    Acronyms    Revisions    WAC Number Index    Site Map    WCCC

Basic Food Work Requirements - Unsuitable Employment and Quitting a Job

Revised March 25, 2011

Purpose:
WAC 388-444-0065Am I eligible for Basic Food if I quit my job?
WAC 388-444-0070What is good cause for quitting my job?
WAC 388-444-0075What are the penalties if I quit a job without good cause?

  


WAC 388-444-0065

WAC 388-444-0065

Effective December 18, 2010

WAC 388-444-0065 Am I eligible for Basic Food if I quit my job?

1.    You are not eligible for Basic Food if you quit your current job without good cause as defined in WAC 388-444-0070, and you are in one of the following categories:

a.    You were working twenty hours or more per week or the job provided weekly earnings equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by twenty hours; 

b.    The quit was within sixty days before you applied for Basic Food or any time after;

c.    At the time of quit you were applying for Basic Food and would have been required to register for work as defined in WAC 388-444-0005;

d.    If you worked or you were self-employed and working thirty hours a week or you had weekly earnings at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by thirty hours.

2.    You are not eligible to receive Basic Food if you have participated in a strike against a federal, state or local government and have lost your employment because of such participation.

This is a reprint of the official rule as published by the Office of the Code Reviser. If there are previous versions of this rule, they can be found using the Legislative Search page.

WAC 388-444-0070

WAC 388-444-0070

Effective December 18, 2010

WAC 388-444-0070 What is good cause for quitting my job?

Unless otherwise specified the following rules apply to all persons receiving Basic Food.

  1. You must have good reason (good cause) for quitting a job or you will be disqualified from receiving Basic Food under WAC 388-444-0075.  Good cause includes the following: 
    1. Your employment is unsuitable as under WAC 388-444-0060;
    2. You were discriminated against by an employer based on age, race, sex, color, religious belief, national origin, political belief, marital status, or the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or other reasons in RCW 49.60.180;
    3. Work demands or conditions make continued employment unreasonable, such as working without being paid on schedule;
    4. You accepted other employment or are enrolled at least half time in any recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education;
    5. You must leave a job because another assistance unit member accepted a job or is enrolled at least half time in any recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education in another county or similar political subdivision and your assistance unit must move;
    6. You are under age sixty and retire as recognized by your employer;
    7. You accept a bona fide offer of employment of twenty or more hours a week or where the weekly earnings are equivalent to the federal minimum wage multiplied by twenty hours. However, because of circumstances beyond your control, the job either does not materialize or results in employment of twenty hours or less a week or weekly earnings of less than the federal minimum wage multiplied by twenty hours;
    8. You leave a job in connection with patterns of employment where workers frequently move from one employer to another, such as migrant farm labor or construction work; and
    9. Circumstances included under WAC 388-444-0050.
  2. You are eligible for Basic Food after quitting a job if the circumstances of the job involve:
    1. Changes in job status resulting from reduced hours of employment while working for the same employer;
    2. Termination of a self-employment enterprise; or
    3. Resignation from a job at the demand of an employer.
  3. You must provide proof that you had good cause for quitting a job. However, we do not deny your application for Basic Food if you are unable to get proof even with our help. 

This is a reprint of the official rule as published by the Office of the Code Reviser. If there are previous versions of this rule, they can be found using the Legislative Search page.

WAC 388-444-0075

WAC 388-444-0075

Effective December 18, 2010

WAC 388-444-0075 What are the penalties if I quit a job without good cause?

1.    If you have applied for Basic Food and have quit a job without good cause within sixty days before applying for Basic Food, we deny your application and you must have a penalty period as described under subsection (3) from the date of your application. 

2.    If you already receive Basic Food and you quit your job without good cause, we send you a letter notifying you that you will be disqualified from Basic Food.  The disqualification in subsection (3) of this section begins the first of the month following the notice of adverse action.

3.    You are disqualified for the following minimum periods of time and until the conditions in subsection (4) of this section are met:

a.    For the first quit, one month;

b.    For the second quit, three months; and

c.    For the third or subsequent quit, six months.

4.    You may re-establish eligibility after serving the disqualification period, if otherwise eligible by:

a.    Getting a new job; or

b.    Participating in workfare as provided in WAC 388-444-0040.

5.    If you become exempt from work registration under WAC 388-444-0010, we end your disqualification for a job quit unless you are exempt for applying for or receiving unemployment compensation (UC), or participating in an employment and training program under TANF.

6.    If you are disqualified and move from the assistance unit and join another assistance unit, we continue to treat you as an ineligible member of the new assistance unit for the remainder of the disqualification period.

This is a reprint of the official rule as published by the Office of the Code Reviser. If there are previous versions of this rule, they can be found using the Legislative Search page.

CLARIFYING INFORMATION

The rules for quitting a job apply to both Basic Food applicants and benefit recipients.

General Requirements

  1. The following requirements apply to all Basic Food clients 16 through 59 years old who:

    1. Quits a job within 60 days of application.

    2. Quits a job after an application for benefits was submitted but before Basic Food benefits are certified.

    3. Quits a job during certification.

    4. At the time of quit would have been required to register for work.

  2. The following situations are not considered a voluntary job quit:

    1. Terminating a self-employment enterprise; and

    2. Resigning at the request of the employer.


NOTE: Do not delay benefits to an otherwise eligible person beyond the normal processing time while the outcome of determining good cause is pending.

WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES

Verifying and Documenting a Voluntary Job Quit

  1. Verify the client's claim of good cause if questionable.

  2. The client has the primary responsibility for verifying questionable statements.

  3. Provide assistance if verification is difficult to attain.

  4. Whenever possible, verification should be accepted from but not limited to:

    1. The previous employer;

    2. An employee organization or union; or

    3. A grievance committee or organization.

  5. For an applicant without good cause, disqualify the client from the date of application following ACES procedures below.

  6. For a recipient without good cause, send the notice of adverse action and apply the disqualification the first of the month following the 10-day advance notice.

ACES PROCEDURES

See Disqualified / Sanctioned Assistance Unit / Individual - Quitting a Job Without Good Cause
Modification Date: March 25, 2011