(A) Conflict with the
Revised Code
(1) Section (5) of
Amended Substitute Senate Bill 238 of the 126th General Assembly (09/06)(9/2006) sets forth
the following provision: Not later than September 30, 2006, the director of job
and family services shall adopt rules as necessary for the state to comply with
42 U.S.C. 607(i)(2) (08/96)(8/1996). If necessary to bring the state into compliance
with 42 U.S.C. 607(i)(2) (08/96)(8/1996), the rules may deviate from Chapter 5107. of the
Revised Code. Rules adopted under this section that govern financial and other administrative
requirements applicable to the department of job and family services and county
departments of job and family services shall be adopted in accordance with section
111.15 of the Revised Code as if they were internal management rules. All other
rules adopted under this section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119.
of the Revised Code.
(2) The county agency
shall administer the work activity programs in accordance with the requirements
contained in this rule and not in accordance with sections 5107.01, 5107.14, 5107.16,
5107.36, 5107.40, 5107.41, 5107.42, 5107.43, 5107.60, 5107.62, 5107.64, 5107.65,
5107.67 5107.68 and 5107.70 of the Revised Code. All applicable requirements contained
in the Revised Code sections referenced have been incorporated in this rule.
(B) Who is a work eligible
individual?
(1) A work eligible
individual means an adult or minor head of household receiving Ohio works first
(OWF) or a non-recipient parent living with a child who is in receipt of OWF unless
the parent is:
(a) A minor parent
who is not the head of household;
(b) A non-citizen who
is not eligible to receive OWF due to his or her immigration status;
(c) A recipient of
supplemental security income (SSI) benefits;
(d) A recipient of
social security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits; or
(e) A parent providing
care for a disabled family member, ifwhen the following criteria are met:
(i) The disabled
family member must be living in that home; and
(ii) There is medical
documentation to support the need for the parent to remain in the home to care for
the disabled family member.
(2) Disability shall
be deemed to exist when there is a physical or mental illness or impairment. The
disability shall be supported by competent medical documentation and must be of
such a debilitating nature as to reduce substantially or eliminate the individual's
ability to work. The disability must be expected to last for a period of at least
thirty days.
(C) What are the required
hours of work participation?
(1) All work eligible
individuals shall be assigned to one or more work activities or alternative activities,
and participate at least the following number of hours except as provided in paragraphs
(C)(2) to (C)(4) of this rule:
(a) In an assistance
group that includes only one work eligible individual, at least an average weekly
amount of thirty hours.
(b) In an assistance
group that includes two work eligible individuals and receiving no federally funded
child care, at least an average total weekly amount of thirty-five hours for the
two work eligible individuals.
(c) In an assistance
group that includes two work eligible individuals and is receiving federally funded
child care, at least an average total weekly amount of fifty-five hours for the
two work eligible individuals.
(d) In an assistance
group that includes two work eligible individuals where one parent is disabled as described in paragraph (C)(2) of rule 5101:1-3-01 of the Administrative
Code, at least an average total weekly amount of thirty hours.
(e) In an assistance
group that includes a work eligible individual who is the only parent or specified
relative in need in the family of a child under six years of age, at least an average
weekly amount of twenty hours.
(f) InWhen a county agency determines
that an assignment to a work activity is not appropriate for an assistance
group that includes a single custodial parent with a
minor child under twelve months of age:and asingle custodial parent a county
agency may exempt the work eligible individualfor
no more than twelve months. The county agency may
assign the exempt work eligible individual to one or more alternative activities
for a number of hours a week the county agency determines.
(i) A failure to meet the work participation
rate by the work eligible individual is disregarded from the federal work participation
rate for no more than twelve months in the work eligible individual's lifetime;
and
(ii) The county agency may assign the work eligible
individual to one or more alternative activities for a number of hours a week determined
by the county agency.
(g) A recipient who
is married or a head of household and has not attained twenty years of age is deemed
to be engaged in work for a month in a fiscal year ifwhen the recipient:
(i) Maintains satisfactory
attendance at secondary school or the equivalent during the month; or
(ii) Participates
in education directly related to employment for an average of at least twenty hours
per week during the month.
(2) There are circumstances
under whichwhen the
county agency may reduce a work eligible individual's hours of participation in
a work activity to less than the weekly hours otherwise required. The county agency
shall document the reason for not assigning the participant to all or some of the
required hours. The appraisal or assessment shall be used to determine ifwhen it is appropriate to
assign a reduced number of hours.
(a) In accordance with
rule 5101:9-2-02 of the Administrative Code, a reduction in the hours of participation
may be a reasonable modification for an individual that discloses, has, or appears
to have a physical or mental condition that substantially limits one or more major
life activitesactivities.
(b) When an individual
discloses, has, or appears to have a physical or mental condition that substantially
limits one or more major life activities, the county agency shall act in accordance
with rule 5101:9-2-02 of the Administrative Code and the Americans with DisabilitesDisabilities Act
(ADA) plan adopted by the county agency in accordance with rule 5101:9-2-02 of the
Administrative Code.
(3) After a work eligible
individual is assigned to a work activity or alternative activity a county agency
shall place the work eligible individual in the assigned activity as soon as the
activity becomes available. Until the activity is available,
a county agency shall assign a work eligible individual to another activity as appropriate.
(4) Participation in
a work activity may be waived due to domestic violence, as set forthdescribed in rule
5101:1-3-20 of the Administrative Code.
(5) One work eligible
parent may complete all required work activity hours for a two-parent assistance
group.
(6) Alternative activities
(a) IfWhen a county agency determines
that a work eligible individual has a temporary or permanent barrier to participation
in a work activity, it may assign a work eligible individual to one or more alternative
activities pursuant to rule 5101:1-3-12.12 of the Administrative Code.
(b) There are no minimum
number of hours required for assignment in alternative activities.
(c) There are no limitations
as to the number of work eligible individuals who may be assigned to alternative
activities.
(7) A county agency
may reassign a work eligible individual when the county agency determines reassignment
will aid the assistance group in achieving self sufficiency and personal responsibility
and shall make reassignments when circumstances requiring reassignment occur, including
when a temporary barrier to participating in a work activity is eliminated.
(D) Can a work eligible
individual applicantapplicant(s)
be assigned to a work activity?
Job search and job readiness activities, as defined in rule 5101:1-3-12.5
of the Administrative Code, are the only activities an applicantapplicant(s) of OWF can be assigned.
(E) WhichWhat holidays may be
counted towards work participation?
(1) Holidays are limited
to the ten federal holidays as established by the United States government in 5
U.S.C. 6103(a) (01/05)(10/1998).
(a) New Years day,
January first;
(b) Birthday of Martin
Luther King Jr., the third Monday in January;
(c) Washington's birthday,
the third Monday in February;
(d) Memorial day, the
last Monday in May;
(e) Independence day,
July fourth;
(f) Labor day, the
first Monday in September;
(g) Columbus day, the
second Monday in October;
(h) Veteran's day,
November eleventh;
(i) Thanksgiving
day, the fourth Thursday in November; and
(j) Christmas day,
December twenty-fifth.
(2) In order to count
a holiday as actual hours of participation, the work eligible individual mustshall have been scheduled
to participate on that day but for the holiday.
(F) What ifoccurs when a work eligible
individual fails to complete the assigned hours?
(1) Single custodial
parent with a child under six:
The county agency shall inform single custodial parents caring for
a child under six years of age of the following requirements, and may include this
information on the participant's self sufficiency contract.
(a) The provisions
in rule 5101:1-3-13 of the Administrative Code;
(b) The exception to
imposing a three-tier sanction ifwhen the single custodial parent demonstrates an inability
to obtain needed child care;
(c) The county agency
procedures for determining a single custodial parent's inability to obtain needed
child care;
(d) The fact that the
exception to participation in work activities does not extend the OWF time limits;
and
(e) The right to a
state hearing.
Documentation to confirm that parents have been informed of this
provision shall be contained in the case file.
(2) All others with
missed hours:
Missed hours of participation in a month may be made up by a work
eligible individual within the same month at the discretion of the county agency.
Any missed hours of participation that are not made up by an individual may be considered
good cause ifwhen they
meet one of the good cause reasons set forthdescribed in rule 5101:1-3-13 of the Administrative Code.
Any missed hours of participation whichthat are not made up within the month or for whichthat good cause cannot
be established are subject to the three-tier sanction provisions as set forthdescribed in rule
5101:1-3-15 of the Administrative Code.
(3) IfWhen the county agency determines
that the provisions of rule 5101:1-3-13 of the Administrative Code do not apply,
the county agency shall apply the sanction policy pursuant to rule 5101:1-3-15 of
the Administrative Code.
(G) What are the supervision
requirements for unpaid work activities?
(1) Participation in
unpaid activities shall be supervised no less frequently than once each day in whichthat the individual
is scheduled to participate.
(2) Daily supervision
means that a responsible party has daily responsibility for oversight of the individual's
participation, not necessarily daily, in-person contact with the participant.
(3) Work eligible individuals
shall be supervised by one of the following:
(a) The employer;
(b) The work supervisor;
or
(c) Other responsible
third party.
(H) How are hours of
participation in unpaid activities verified?
(1) All actual hours
of participation shall be verified on a monthly basis.
(2) Verification is
considered to be met when the county agency has received confirmation of the actual
hours of participation.
(3) All assigned hours
of participation shall be accounted for by the county agency.
(4) Verified hours
of participation shall be entered into the client registry
information system-enhanced (CRIS-E)statewide automated
eligibility system in a timely manner.
(5) Acceptable types
of verification for hours participated include but are not limited to the following:
(a) The CRIS-Estatewide automated eligibility
system generated schedule;
(b) JFS 06910 "Record
of Attendance Report" (rev. 09/06)(rev. 9/2006);
(c) JFS 06909 "Record
of School Attendance Report" (rev. 09/06)(rev. 9/2006);
(d) Data exchange report;
(e) Documented phone
contact with the work site;
or other methods determined acceptable by the county agency
as long as the following are included:
(i) The participant's name;
(ii) An accounting of all assigned hours of
participation at that participation site;
(iii) The name and location of the participation
site;
(iv) The name of the participant's work site
supervisor; and
(v) The name and phone number of the person
verifying the hours.
(f) Other county agency acceptable methods
so long as the elements listed are included:
(i) The participant's name;
(ii) An accounting of all assigned hours of
participation at that participation site;
(iii) The name and location of the participation
site;
(iv) The name of the participant's work site
supervisor; and
(v) The name and phone number of the person
verifying the hours.
(I) How are hours
of participation in paid activities verified?
(1) A county agency
shall verify the participation hours for unsubsidized employment, subsidized employment
program (SEP) and on-the-job training (OJT) at least once every six months.
(2) The hours reported
on the interim report and verified pursuant to rule 5101:1-2-20 of the Administrative
Code shall be used as a six month projection of hours of participation.
(3) The hours verified
during the application and reapplication process as set forthdescribed in rules 5101:1-2-01 and 5101:1-2-10 of the Administrative
Code shall be used as a six month projection of hours of participation.
(4) The county agency
shall determine monthly work participation hours by multiplying the average weekly
number of hours by 4.3.
(J) How are the work
assignments affected by the Fair Labor Standards Act (05/00)(5/2011) (FLSA)?
(1) Work eligible individuals
assigned to the work experience program (WEP) and community service activities are
subject to FLSA requirements contained in 29 U.S.C. 201 (05/00)(5/2007).
(2) "To employ"
is defined for purposes of complying with FLSA as "to suffer or permit to work."
(3) Work experience programWEP
and community service activities should be examined by the county agency to determine
whether each assigned activity is subject to FLSA.
(4) The maximum monthly
hours of participation allowable under FLSA are determined as follows:
(a) The OWF grant (before
recoupment) and food assistance allotment (before recoupment) are added together;
(b) Child support collections
received in the month and retained to reimburse the state or federal government
for the current month's OWF payment are subtracted from the total in paragraph (J)(4)(a)
of this rule.
(c) The net amount
in paragraph (J)(4)(b) of this rule is divided by the higher of the state or federal
minimum wage to determine the maximum allowable hours of monthly participation in
work experience programWEP
or community service.
(5) IfWhen the child support received
is fluctuating or not representative of the current child support payments, the
county agency shall convert the child support payments to a monthly average using
the process defined in paragraph (F)(3)(c)(i)(E) of rule 5101:1-23-20 of the Administrative Code. The
county agency shall use child support payments collected and retained in the immediately
preceding three month period to determine an average amount to be used in the calculation
of maximum monthly hours of participation allowable under FLSA.
(6) Any work allowance
amount issued is excluded from the calculation of monthly FLSA hours of participation.
(7) IfWhen a work assignment is
subject to the requirements of the FLSA and the allowable assignment for hours of
participation falls below the core hour requirement as set
forthdescribed in paragraph (F)(1) of rule
5101:1-3-01 of the Administrative Code one of the following mustshall occur, except as
provided in paragraph (D)(4)(C)(4) of this rule:
(a) The work eligible
individual can make up the remainder of the core hours in a core activity not subject
to FLSA; or
(b) The county agency
can deem the remainder of the core hours to have been met.
(8) IfWhen core hours are deemed
for a work eligible individual, as allowed in paragraph (J)(7)(b) of this rule,
any remaining hours assigned can only be completed in a non-core activity.
(K) What other requirements
pertain to OWF work activities?
(1) No work eligible
individual shall be assigned to a work activity or alternative activity when the
employer removes or discharges a person, for the purpose of substituting the individual
in the person's place in any of the following circumstances:
(a) The person is already
employed as a regular full-time or part-time employee of the employer;
(b) The person has
been employed full time or part time as a work eligible individual in a work activity
or alternative activity;
(c) The person is
or has been involved in a dispute between a labor organization and the employer;
or
(d) The person is on
layoff from the same or any substantially equivalent job.
(2) No employer shall
hire an OWF recipient or work eligible individual part-time to circumvent hiring
a full-time employee.
(3) The county agency
shall establish and maintain a grievance procedure for resolving complaints by individuals
or their representatives that the assignment of a work eligible individual violates
the provisions set forthdescribed
in paragraph (K)(1) of this rule.
(4) Except for a work
eligible individual who is assigned to subsidized employment as set forthdescribed in rule
5101:1-3-12.2 of the Administrative Code or unsubsidized employment as set forthdescribed in rule
5101:1-3-12.1 of the Administrative Code, credit for work performed by a work eligible
individual in a work activity or alternative activity does not constitute remuneration
for the purpose of Chapter 124., 144., or 145. of the Revised Code and services
performed by the work eligible individual do not constitute employment for the purposes
of Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code.
(5) The county agency
shall implement and enforce the requirements of this rule. State and local agencies
shall cooperate with the county agency to the maximum extent possible in the implementation
of these sections.
(6) In employing persons
to administer and supervise work activities and alternative activities, a county
agency shall give first consideration to applicants for OWF and work eligible individuals
provided such applicants and work eligible individuals qualify for the administrative
and supervisory positions to be filled. An applicant or work eligible individual
shall be eligible for first consideration only within the county in whichthat the applicant
applies for OWF or a work eligible individual participates in OWF.
(7) To the maximum extent practicable, necessary
support services provided under section 5107.66 of the Revised Code shall be performed
by work eligible individuals first placed in a work activity or alternative activity.
(7) Subject to the availability of funds and
except as limited by section 5107.58 of the Revised Code, a county agency shall
provide support services it determines to be necessary for OWF participants placed
in a work activity, developmental activity, or alternative work activity. A county
agency may provide support services it determines to be necessary for OWF applicants
placed in a job search or job readiness activity established under section 5107.50
of the Revised Code. Support services may include publicly funded child care under
Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code, transportation, and other services.
(8) The assignment
of a work eligible individual pursuant to this rule or its supplemental rules shall
be consistent with rule 5101:9-2-02 of the Administrative Code and the ADA plan
adopted by the county agency.
Effective: 3/1/2018
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 10/26/2017 and 03/01/2023
Certification: CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY
Date: 01/19/2018
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 5107.05, 5107.16
Rule Amplifies: 5107.05, 5107.66
Prior Effective Dates: 3/1/1983, 6/7/1984 (Emer.), 9/1/1984, 8/1/1985,
3/1/1987, 12/1/1987 (Emer.), 2/15/1988, 1/1/1989, 6/30/1989 (Emer.), 9/23/1989,
4/2/1990, 4/1/1991, 7/1/1991, 5/1/1992, 9/1/1993, 12/1/1995 (Emer.), 2/19/1996,
7/1/1996 (Emer.), 10/1/1997, 12/20/1997, 10/1/1999, 1/1/2001, 10/1/2004, 7/1/2005,
9/29/2006 (Emer.), 12/29/2006, 7/1/2007, 10/1/2007 (Emer.), 12/29/2007, 10/1/2008,
5/1/2010, 2/5/2012, 5/7/2012, 10/1/2014