Work Requirement Disqualifications
  |
The subject of this section is about the reduction of NA and CA benefits due to a participant voluntarily quitting a job, reducing work hours, refusing a job offer, or receiving an NA Unemployment Insurance (UI)-comparable disqualification without a good cause.
Policy
Quick Access Menu:
Voluntary Quit Disqualification
Participants may be disqualified from benefits when they voluntarily take any of the following actions:
●Quit a job.
For NA, 30 days before the application date and anytime afterwards.
For CA, 60 days before the application date and anytime afterwards.
●Reduce their hours of employment.
●Refuse a job offer.
NOTE Job refusal only applies to NA.
Voluntary quit means to resign from a job that meets any of the following:
●For NA, pays an hourly rate of federal minimum wage(g) and works 30 hours or more per week, or earned income is equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 hours per week, regardless of the number of hours worked.
●For CA, pays an hourly rate of federal minimum wage and works 20 hours or more per week, or earned income is equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 20 hours per week, regardless of the number of hours worked.
Voluntary reduction in work hours includes all of the following:
●Decreasing the number of hours worked in paid employment to less than 30 hours per week.
●When a participant who works less than 30 hours reduces their hours, a disqualification is not imposed.
NOTE Disqualification for refusing a job offer only applies to NA
None of the voluntary quit policies applies to any participant who:
●Did not voluntarily quit the job.
●Reduces work hours at the demand of the employer.
●Has good cause(g) for quitting a job.
●Is exempt from the NA work Requirements.
NOTE NA participants subject to the NA work requirements, who work a minimum of 30 hours a week or receive weekly earnings at least equal to the federal minimum wage multiplied by 30 are not exempt from the voluntary quit disqualification.
●Terminate a self-employment enterprise.
●Is a striker except for an employee of the federal, state, or local government who has been dismissed for participating in a strike against that government. See Strikers Eligibility Requirements for more information.
●Quit a job and then began a new job that was subsequently lost through no fault of the participant.
●Quit a job due to a reduction in hours of employment.
●Resigned from a job at the employer’s request.
See NA Work Requirement Exemptions or CA Jobs Exemptions for work requirement exemption reasons.
NA UI-Comparable Disqualification
Receiving an Unemployment Insurance (UI) disqualification may cause an NA UI-comparable disqualification. Any of the following information in the system interface(g) may indicate an NA UI-comparable disqualification:
●Ability to work and refuses to work.
●Available for employment and does not appear for work.
●Failure or refusal to accept a job.
●Refusal to accept a referral for a job.
●Voluntarily quit employment.
●Discharged from employment for misconduct.
●UI overpayment penalties.
●Failed to meet reporting requirements for UI or Job Service.
FAA considers good cause reasons for noncompliance with the work requirements before reducing or stopping benefits. When a participant has a good cause reason and provides reasonable verification, FAA does not reduce or stop benefits. See Work Requirement Good Cause Reasons for a list of possible good cause reasons.
For NA, when a work disqualification is imposed, one of the following applies:
●When the participant is the NA lead participant, NA benefits are stopped or are denied for the entire budgetary unit. See NA Lead Participant Selection for information on how the lead participant is selected.
●When the participant is not the NA lead participant, benefits are stopped or denied for that participant.
NOTE Notice of adverse action(g) is applicable when benefits are stopped or reduced due to a disqualification.
For CA, when a work disqualification is imposed, one of the following applies:
●When the disqualified participant is the Primary Informant(g) or the TPEP Primary Wage Earner(g), CA benefits are stopped allowing for notice of adverse action (NOAA) or are denied.
●When the disqualified participant is not the primary informant or the primary wage earner, a CA graduated sanction is imposed to reduce or stop benefits allowing for NOAA. See Voluntary Quit Noncompliance Notification and CA PRA Graduated Sanctions for more information about CA sanctions.
Work Requirement Good Cause Reasons
NA and CA good cause reasons apply to all of the following voluntary actions:
●Quitting a job.
●Reducing work hours.
●Refusing a job offer.
●NA Unemployment Insurance (UI)-comparable disqualification.
●Able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) work requirements. (See ABAWD Eligibility and Requirements for more information.)
Good cause reasons are based on circumstances beyond the participant's control and are determined on a case-by-case basis. Good cause reasons include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●Illness or incapacity of another person that requires the presence of the participant.
●Distance to the job was unreasonable due to one of the following:
No public or private transportation, and the distance to the job is too far to walk.
Commuting time exceeds two hours per day, not including time to take a child to a childcare facility.
●Unanticipated emergencies that include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
A court-ordered appearance or incarceration that stops a participant from reporting for work.
Severe weather stops the participant and other people from going to work.
●Lack of adequate childcare when the participant is responsible for the care of a child who is one of the following:
For NA, age 6 through 11.
For CA, under the age of 12.
●Inability to write or speak a language necessary for employment.
●Employer discrimination based on any of the following:
Age
Color
Genetics
Having a disability
Marital status
National origin
Political beliefs or affiliations
Previous civil rights complaints
Ethnicity or race
Religious creed
Sex (Including gender identity, sexual stereotypes, pregnancy, and sexual orientation)
Veteran status
●Work demands or conditions that render continued employment unreasonable, such as, and not limited to, working without being paid on schedule.
●Resignation by a participant under age 60 who is recognized by the employer as retired.
●Quitting a job to accept new employment of similar hours and salary. Due to circumstances beyond the participant’s control, one of the following occurs with the new job:
It fails to materialize.
Results in a layoff.
Employment of fewer than 20 hours per week.
Weekly earnings are less than the federal minimum wage(g) multiplied by 20 hours per week.
●Leaving a job connected with employment patterns in which employees frequently move from one employer to another. Examples include migrant farm labor or construction work.
●Unsuitable employment. Employment may be suitable when a participant accepts a job and then the job becomes unsuitable later. This can occur for any of the following conditions:
When the employment is subject to the federal minimum wage laws, weekly earnings or training wages have to be less than the federal minimum wage multiplied by 20 hours per week.
When employment is not subject to federal minimum wage laws, weekly wages have to be less than 80% of the federal minimum wage multiplied by 20 hours per week.
●A job offer includes one of the following:
The job pays on a piece-rate basis.
When the job is not subject to federal minimum wage laws, the average weekly income the employee can reasonably be expected to earn is less than 80% of 20 hours per week at the federal minimum wage.
●The employee is required to join, not join, or quit a labor organization, as a condition of employment.
●The location of the job offered is subject to strike or lockout unless the strike is prohibited under one of the following:
The Taft-Hartley Act (Section 208 of the Labor Management Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 178).
An injunction issued under Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 160).
NOTE A striker who belongs to a union may not refuse work just because the job offered is non-union.
●When the participant can demonstrate, or FAA can determine, that any of the following is true:
The participant is physically or mentally incapable of performing the assigned tasks of the job. Documented medical evidence or reliable verification from other sources is required.
The degree of risk to health and safety is unreasonable.
The work hours or type of job interferes with the participant's religious convictions, beliefs, or practices.
●The participant has a reasonable fear that retaining employment could result in harm to themselves, or their family, as a victim or survivor of any of the following:
Domestic violence.
Sexual Harassment.
Sexual assault.
Stalking.
For NA, in addition to the reasons previously listed, good cause reasons also include any of the following:
●A job is offered in the first 30 calendar days(g) of work registration that is not in the participant's field of experience.
NOTE After the first 30 calendar days of registration, the participant may be required to accept a job outside the field of experience.
●The NA participant is required to leave a job due to one of the following:
Accepts other employment of comparable hours or salary.
Enrolls at least half-time in any recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education(g).
●An NA participant leaves a job because of another budgetary unit participant in any of the following situations:
Accepts employment in another city or county that requires the budgetary unit to move.
Enrolls at least half-time in any recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education in another city or county that requires the budgetary unit to move.
NOTE When a participant states that they have a good cause reason for not meeting the work requirements, FAA discusses the situation with the participant.
Disqualification or Benefit Reduction Time Frames
An NA disqualification includes one of the following periods:
●One calendar month for the first violation.
●Three calendar months for the second violation.
●Six calendar months for every additional violation.
The length of an NA disqualification period depends on the number of disqualifications a participant has received for any of the following work requirement disqualifications without a good cause reason:
●Quitting a job.
●Reducing work hours.
●Refusing a job offer.
●NA Unemployment Insurance (UI)-comparable disqualification.
For information about work requirement disqualifications, see Reasons for Work Requirement Disqualifications.
Regardless of whether a disqualification period extends beyond the end of an NA approval period(g), disqualifications begin with one of the following:
●The first month allowing for notice of adverse action(g).
NOTE There is no overpayment for the months when FAA did not impose the disqualification in a timely manner.
●With the first month, an NA budgetary unit is not receiving benefits pending a hearing decision.
●With the first month, the first allotment is issued following the hearing decision when any of the following applies:
The hearing decision is upheld.
The budgetary unit did not waive receipt of continuing benefits pending the hearing decision.
To determine the month an NA disqualification ends, FAA reviews all of the following information:
●The number of months the participant did not receive benefits.
●The number of months of the overpayment is issued based on any of the following:
Quitting a job.
Reducing work hours.
Refusing a job offer.
NOTE FAA does not count disqualified months when a budgetary unit did not receive benefits when determining overpayments.
The participant's NA benefit disqualification ends when the total of months equals the length of the disqualification period. During periods of non-receipt of benefits, any of the following could apply toward the disqualification period:
●When a budgetary unit waives rights to continue receiving benefits during an appeals process.
●NA benefits stopped for reasons unrelated to the NA work requirements disqualification.
Non-receipt of NA benefits for any reason for a period equal to the disqualification period satisfies the disqualification requirement.
The non-receipt of benefit can only be applied when FAA issues the participant a notice that includes the disqualification period.
When FAA discovers a disqualification occurred within 30 calendar days(g) of the date of a new NA application and before an eligibility determination. FAA takes all of the following actions:
●For NA:
The application is denied when the disqualified participant is the NA lead participant.
NOTE For a disqualification of one calendar month, the PI does not need to complete another application or interview. The same application and interview can be used for benefits. A new application is required when the disqualification is for more than one calendar month.
When the participant is not the NA lead participant, the participant is disqualified for the appropriate number of calendar months.
NOTE Once the disqualification period ends, the participant can be added to the NA benefits when the budgetary unit requests that the participant be added to the benefits. FAA determines eligibility and, when eligible, adds the participant to the benefits.
●For CA:
An application is denied when the disqualified participant is the PI or the TPEP Primary Wage Earner (PWE).
NOTE The PI is required to turn in another application and complete an interview. The budgetary unit is not eligible until the disqualification period ends.
When the participant is not the PI or the TPEP PWE, FAA imposes an appropriate graduated sanction of 50% or 100%. See CA sanctions for complete information about graduated sanctions.
When FAA discovers a reason for disqualification after approval of benefits and within 30 calendar days(g) before the application date, and the participant does not have a good cause reason, all of the following disqualification start dates are applied:
●For NA, FAA imposes a disqualification for the first calendar month possible, allowing for Notice of Adverse Action(g).
●For CA, FAA imposes a graduated sanction the first calendar month possible, allowing for Notice of Adverse Action (NOAA).
A work disqualification occurring in the last month of the approval period is too late to allow for NOAA. When this happens, FAA completes all of the following:
●For NA, when the participant reapplies, the disqualification begins on the first calendar day after the current approval period ends.
●For CA, when the participant does not reapply, FAA determines the month the disqualification would have been effective, allowing for NOAA.
NOTE Document the case file(g) to support the action taken when the work disqualification occurs in the last month of the approval period.
When the decision is upheld in an appeal, the disqualification period begins the first applicable calendar month after the hearing decision is rendered. (See Right to an Appeal Hearing for information about the appeal rights of a participant.)
NA Reinstatement During Disqualification
The NA budgetary unit or the participant may attempt to reestablish eligibility at any time, following the notification of disqualification and during the disqualification period.
The budgetary unit may reestablish eligibility when any of the following occurs:
●The disqualified NA lead participant moves out of the budgetary unit.
●The noncompliant NA lead participant becomes exempt from NA Work Requirements. (See NA Work Requirement Exemptions for all applicable exemptions).
●The budgetary unit applies for benefits with a new participant who is eligible to be the NA lead participant. The disqualified participant continues to be ineligible for the remainder of the disqualification period.
●The NA nonlead participant may reestablish eligibility when the budgetary unit reports a change that exempts the participant from the NA work requirements.
A disqualification follows a participant who moves to another budgetary unit. The disqualification only affects the disqualified participant when the disqualified participant does not become the NA lead participant.
The participant may become the NA lead participant of the new budgetary unit. When this occurs, the new budgetary unit is disqualified from receiving NA benefits for the remainder of the disqualification period.
Reinstatement After Disqualification
For the disqualification of an NA lead participant discovered on a new application, following a disqualification period of more than two calendar months, an NA budgetary unit has to reapply.
When the application date is in the disqualified month, FAA uses the same application for 60 calendar days(g) or for less than the disqualification period.
For the disqualification of a non-lead participant, the budgetary unit needs to request that the participant be added back. All of the following apply:
●FAA completes all of the following:
Redetermines the participant's eligibility.
Determines the end date of the disqualification period.
Updates the participant’s work status.
●The participant is added to the budgetary unit when otherwise eligible.
●When possible, the participant is screened for a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Career Advancement Network (SNAP CAN) referral. (See SNAP CAN for screening information.)
To end an NA Unemployment Insurance (UI)-comparable disqualification, all of the following apply:
●Disqualified budgetary units have to reapply.
●The budgetary unit has to submit a request for the participant to be added to the NA benefits.
●The noncompliant participant needs to be exempt from, or in compliance with, the UI registration and participation requirements.
●FAA has to verify an NA work requirement exemption or UI compliance before NA work disqualification reinstatement.
See CA Sanctions and Reapplication After CA Sanction for more information about ending CA graduated sanctions that result from a work requirement disqualification.
Verification
The Primary Informant(g) is responsible for providing the verification. FAA offers assistance when it is difficult for the primary informant (PI) to obtain written verification.
Sources of verification include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●The previous employer.
●Employee associations.
●Union representatives.
●Grievance committees or organizations.
●FAA can use a collateral contact when documented verification requires clarification or when the participant is unable to obtain the verification and asks for assistance.
Legal References
7CFR 273.7(f)(7)
last revised 06/08/2026