Maybe. DTA can deny your SNAP/food stamp benefits— or cut you off— if you are subject to the FSET work requirements and you voluntarily quit a job without good cause.
Here's how the rules voluntary quit work:
- If you voluntarily quit a job without good cause within 60 days before you apply for benefits, your whole household cannot get SNAP/food stamp benefits for three months from the date you quit the job. This disqualification runs from the date you quit the job, not the date you apply for benefits. 106 C.M.R. § 362.340. This rule does not apply if the household member who quit leaves the household, gets a new job, or becomes exempt from work registration rules. The penalties increase for a second and third quit.
- If you voluntarily quit a job without good cause after the date you applied for SNAP/food stamp benefits or while you are on benefits, you are ineligible for three months. 106 C.M.R. § 367.800(E)(2) & (F). The other members in your household are still eligible. This rule does not apply if the household member who quit gets a new job or becomes exempt from work registration rules. Penalties increase for a second and third quit. On the third quit, if you are the "head of household," your whole household is ineligible for six months.
DTA should only ask you to verify work you had within 60 days prior to application. DTA does not need to know about or verify jobs you had more than 60 days prior. If you need help getting information from a past employer, you can give DTA permission to make a "collateral contact" with the employer directly (See What if I am having trouble getting all the proofs, or the proofs get to DTA late?) or through The Work Number, if the employer participates in that service. 106 C.M.R. § 361.640(B).
Advocacy Reminder
- If you meet an exemption from the FSET work registration/work search rules, the voluntary quit sanctions do not apply to you. 106 C.M.R. § 362.340(A)(1). Exemptions include if you are incapacitated, go into a substance abuse treatment program, are more than three months pregnant, receive UI benefits, attend an approved college activity, etc. See Who must register for work and do job search, and who's exempt?
Additional Policy Guidance on Voluntary Quit Rules
Additional Policy Guidance on Voluntary Quit Rules
- An employee or DTA may be able to verify the last date of employment and reasons for job termination through "The Work Number," a service used by many large company employers. DTA Field Operations Memo 2007-3 (Jan. 31, 2007)
- Start date of disqualification penalty begins with date of quit, not date of SNAP/food stamp application. DTA Transitions (July 2000)
Produced by Patricia Baker, Laura Gallant, Deborah Harris, Rochelle Hahn Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Last updated January 2011
