7 CFR § 273.7(i)(1)-(3)(i)-(viii)

 

Good cause for a work requirement disqualification includes:

  • Accepting another job of at least 30 hours per week (or equivalent).
  • Accepting a job offer that provides at least 30 hours a week, or weekly earnings at least equal to Federal minimum wage times 30 hours, and that job did not materialize or meet the hourly criteria or weekly earnings through no fault of their own.  
  • An EDG member accepted a job or enrolled in school at least half-time in another county or State, causing the EDG to move.
  • Circumstances beyond the registrant’s control. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

    • EDG emergency
    • illness of the work registrant or another EDG member requiring their presence
  • Discrimination by an employer based on:
    • age,
    • color,
    • handicap,
    • national origin,
    • political beliefs,
    • race,
    • religious beliefs, or
    • sex.
  • Enrollment in school at least half-time.
  • Lack of adequate dependent care is reported for children at least 6 and under 12.
  • Leaving a job that requires frequent moves to different employers. 

For example migrant or seasonal farm workers, or construction workers.

  • Retiring before age 60 and the employer recognizes it as retirement.
  • The job was unsuitable.
  • Work demands or conditions make it unreasonable to continue employment, such as working without being paid on time.


Consider all the facts from the EDG and others, such as the employer, when good cause is claimed.  Enter case notes regarding the individual’s claim of good cause, the facts, and why a disqualification was imposed or not imposed. 

Unsuitable Employment

7 CFR § 273.7(h)(1)-(2)(i)-(iv)


Do not impose a job quit or reduced work hours disqualification if the job meets one of the following:

  • The daily commuting time exceeds 2 hours a day, not including taking a child to and from child care. 

Note: EDG moves resulting in more than 2 hours commuting time, including moves within the State and from State to State make the job unsuitable. This applies whether an individual leaves a job before or after the move.

  • The distance to the place of employment is too far to walk, and neither public nor private transportation is available to get the individual to the job site.
  • The individual is physically or mentally unfit to perform the job.  
  • The individual must join, resign from, or refrain from joining any legitimate labor organization to get or keep the job.
  • The job is on a piece-rate basis and the average hourly earnings are less than the hourly wage as defined below.
  • The job is offered within the first 30 days of registration and is not in the individual’s major field of experience.
  • The job offered is at a site currently subject to a strike or lockout, unless: 
  • the strike has been enjoined under Section 208 of the Labor-Management Relations Act (commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act), or 
  • an injunction has been issued under Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act.
  • The risk to the health and safety of the individual is unreasonable.
  • The wage offered is less than the highest of:
  • The working hours or nature of the job interferes with the individual’s religious observations, convictions, or beliefs.