SNAP Policy Update: Increase in SNAP Terminations/Denials due to erroneous or out-dated wage matches - How you can help your clients.

We have continued to receive calls and emails from community organizations and/or SNAP recipients directly who have received SNAP termination notices. We have been called by employers who were asked to produce verification for persons that have not worked for them.  We have seen a flurry of Verification Checklists (VC-1s) or SNAP termination notices seeking:

• information on wages erroneously reported by the employers (e.g. where earnings are reported on the wrong SSNs or other data errors)
• end dates for temporary or short term jobs (day labor, contract jobs) that ended months or years ago, or involved 1-2 days of  training pay but no actual job.. Even for DTA clients who reported temporary work, it has been customary practice for busy DTA workers to not bother recording the earnings information client's reported if it would have no impact on the SNAP benefits under prospective budgeting rules.
• wage information of SNAP households on  "semi-annual" or "interim reporting" who do not need to report earnings (below 200% FPL) until the 6 month interim reporting time.
• proof re termination of a job where the person earned $00.00 pay. We think these are surfacing from the state's mandatory "New Hire Reporting" policy where employers must pay a fine for not reporting a New Hires, but are not mandated or fined if they end up not using the employee or the employee gets another job in the interim. See DOR New Hire Reporting FAQ.

Thanks to the many Coalition members who have already contacted us.

 

If you are seeing any SNAP or cash cases where the DTA request for employment information seems inappropriate, duplicative or erroneous, please contact MLRI:  Before terminating or denying SNAP or cash benefits, DTA staff should be able to go into the DOR quarterly system to see that there were any wages reported on a job at all, or if the wages stopped in a subsequent DOR work quarter.  In addition, DTA has an affirmative obligation to offer assistance to SNAP and cash recipients, including directly contacting the employer ( "collateral contact") and offering the client a form to sign letting DTA call the employer directly (see attached form). Further, DTA should not delay processing a SNAP or cash application based on outdated wage matches where there is no evidence of continued employment. 

 

PLEASE CONTINUE TO CONTACT MLRI if you see these case.  Vicky Negus 617-357-0700 x 315 or Pat Baker 617-357-0700 x 328