373-1.8 Requirements for employability services and employment.
(a) Registration for employment-related services, participation in
employability services and targeted assistance programs, participation in job search and
interviews, and acceptance of appropriate offers of employment.
(1) As a condition for receipt of RCA, a
recipient who is not exempt from complying with employment requirements set forth in this
section must, except for good cause:
(i) register with the
authorized service provider providing employability services;
(ii) within 30 days of
receipt of RCA, participate in the assigned employability services;
(iii) carry out job
search, as provided for in subdivision (f) of this section;
(iv) go to all job
interviews arranged by the authorized service provider;
(v) accept an offer of
employment which is determined to be appropriate by the appropriate agency; and
(vi) accept an offer of
employment which is determined to be appropriate by the local resettlement agency which
was responsible for the initial resettlement of the refugee or entrant.
(2) A social services district must permit, but
may not require, the voluntary registration for employability services of an applicant or
recipient who is exempt under subdivision (b) of this section.
(b) Criteria for exemption from registration for employability
services, participation in job search and interviews, and acceptance of appropriate offers
of employment.
(1) An applicant for or recipient of RCA is
employable unless the applicant or recipient is:
(i)under age 16;
(ii) under age 18 and a
full-time student in secondary school or in the equivalent level of vocational or
technical training and reasonably expected to complete the program before reaching age 19;
(iii) ill, when
determined by the social services district on the basis of medical evidence or on another
sound basis that the illness or injury is serious enough to temporarily prevent entry into
employment or training;
(iv) incapacitated,
when determined by a physician or licensed or certified psychologist and verified by the
social services district, that a physical or mental impairment, by itself or in
conjunction with age, prevents the individual from engaging in employment or training;
(v) 65 years of age or
older;
(vi) caring for another
member of the household who has a physical or mental impairment which requires, as
determined by a physician or licensed or certified psychologist and verified by the social
services district, care in the home on a substantially continuous basis, and no other
appropriate member of the household is available;
(vii)a parent or other
caretaker relative of a child under the age of three who personally provides full-time
care of the child with only very brief and infrequent absences from the child. Only one
parent or other relative may be exempt under this subparagraph;
(viii) working at least
30 hours a week in unsubsidized employment expected to last a minimum of 30 days. This
exemption continues to apply if there is a temporary break in full-time employment
expected to last no longer than 10 working days; or
(ix) pregnant, if it
has been medically verified that the child is expected to be born in the month in which
such registration would otherwise be required or within the next six months.
(2) Inability to communicate in English does
not exempt an applicant or recipient from registration for employment services,
participation in employability services, and acceptance of appropriate offers of
employment.
(c) Effect of quitting employment or failing or refusing to participate
in required services.
(1) As a condition of eligibility for RCA, an
employable applicant may not, without good cause, within 30 consecutive calendar days
immediately prior to the application for assistance, have voluntarily quit employment or
have refused to accept an offer of employment determined to be appropriate by the
authorized service provider, using criteria set forth in subdivision (e) of this section.
(2) As a condition of continued receipt of RCA,
an employable recipient may not, without good cause, voluntarily quit employment or fail
or refuse to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) of this section.
(d) Development of an employability plan.
(1) An individual employability plan must be
developed, as part of a family self-sufficiency plan where applicable, by the social
services district or a services provider for each recipient of RCA in a family unit which
is not exempt under subdivision (b) of this section.
(2) If such a plan has been developed by the
local resettlement agency which sponsored the refugee or its designee, a social services
district may accept this plan if it determines that the plan is appropriate for the
refugee and meets the requirements of this section.
(3) The employability plan must:
(i) be designed to lead
to the earliest possible employment and not be structured in such a way as to discourage
or delay employment or job-seeking; and
(ii) contain a definite
employment goal, attainable in the shortest time period consistent with the employability
of the refugee in relation to job openings in the area.
(e) Criteria for appropriate employability services and employment.
(1) Employment services or employment must meet
the following criteria:
(i) all assignments
must be within the scope of the recipient's employability plan. The plan may be modified
to reflect changed services or employment conditions;
(ii) the services or
employment must be related to the capability of the recipient to perform the task on a
regular basis. Any claim of adverse effect on physical or mental health must be based on
adequate testimony from a physician or licensed or certified psychologist indicating that
participation would impair the recipient's physical or mental health;
(iii) the total daily
commuting time to and from home to the service or employment site must not normally exceed
two hours, not including the transporting of a child to and from a child care facility,
unless a longer commuting distance or time is generally accepted in the community, in
which case the round trip commuting time must not exceed the generally accepted community
standards;
(iv) when child care is
required, the care must meet the standards in Part 415 of this Title for work and training
programs for FA recipients;
(v) the service or work
site to which the recipient is assigned must not be in violation of applicable Federal,
State or local health and safety standards;
(vi) assignments must
not be made which are discriminatory in terms of age, sex, race, creed, color or national
origin;
(vii) appropriate work
may be temporary, permanent, full-time, part-time, or seasonal work if such work meets the
other standards of this section;
(viii) the wage must
meet or exceed the Federal or State minimum wage law, whichever is applicable, or if such
laws are not applicable, the wage must not be substantially less favorable than the wage
normally paid for similar work in that labor market;
(ix) the daily hours of
work and the weekly hours of work must not exceed those customary to the occupation;
(x) no individual may
be required to accept employment, if:
(a) the position offered is vacant due to a strike, lockout, or other bona fide labor
dispute; or
(b) the recipient would be required to work for an employer contrary to the conditions of
his or her existing membership in the union governing that occupation. However, employment
not governed by the rules of a union in which he or she has membership may be deemed
appropriate; and
(xi) the quality of
training if offered must meet local employers' requirements so that the recipient will be
in a competitive position within the local labor market. The training also must be likely
to lead to employment which will meet the appropriate work criteria.
(2) A job offered, if determined appropriate
under the requirements of this subdivision, is required to be accepted by the recipient
without regard to whether such job would interrupt a program of services planned or in
progress unless:
(i) the recipient is currently participating in
a program in progress of on-the-job training or vocational training which meets the
requirements of this section and which is being carried out as part of an approved
employability plan; or
(ii) the recipient is enrolled full-time in a
professional re-certification program which meets the requirements of paragraph (2) of
this subdivision.
(f) Failure or refusal to accept employability services or employment.
(1) Termination or reduction of assistance.
When, without good cause, an employable
recipient of RCA who is not exempt from registration under subdivision (b) of this section
has failed or refused to meet the requirements of subdivision (a) of this section or has
voluntarily quit a job, the recipient will be subjected to sanction as set forth in
subparagraph (3) of this subdivision and the authorized service provider must notify the
appropriate social services district so that the district can take the action described in
subparagraphs (2) and (3) of this paragraph.
(2) Notice of intended termination.
(i) In case of proposed
action to terminate, discontinue, suspend, or reduce assistance, the social services
district must give timely and adequate notice as defined in Subpart 358-2 of this Title.
(ii) The written notice
must include:
(a) an explanation of the reason for the action and the consequences of such failure or
refusal; and
(b) notice of the recipient's right to a fair hearing under Part 358 of this Title.
(3) Sanctions.
(i) If the sanctioned
recipient is the only member of the filing unit, the social services district must
terminate the assistance. If the filing unit includes other members, the social services
district must not take into account the sanctioned recipient's needs in determining the
filing unit's need for assistance.
(ii) The sanction
applied in paragraph (1) of this subdivision will remain in effect for three payment
months for the first such failure and six payment months for any subsequent such failure.