New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 10 - HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 90 - WORK FIRST NEW JERSEY PROGRAM › Subchapter 3 - FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY-INCOME, RESOURCES, BENEFITS › Section 10:90-3.8 - Computing the WFNJ TANF/GA monthly cash benefit using disregards for earned and unearned income

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) An earned
				income disregard shall not be applied in the initial financial eligibility
				determination for applicants who are employed. If financial eligibility exists,
				the appropriate disregard as set forth in (b) below shall be applied in
				computing the monthly cash assistance benefit thereafter.
(b) In computing the cash assistance benefit
				for WFNJ recipients who are employed an average of 20 hours or more per week,
				100 percent of the gross earned income shall be disregarded for the first full
				month in which the earned income would be counted. After the 100 percent
				disregard for the first month of employment, if the recipient is employed for
				an average of 20 hours or more a week, 75 percent of the gross earned income
				shall be disregarded for six consecutive months, and 50 percent of the gross
				earned income shall be disregarded for each continuous month of employment
				thereafter. If the recipient is employed less than an average of 20 hours a
				week, after the 100 percent disregard for the first month of employment, 50
				percent of the gross earned income shall be disregarded for each continuous
				month of employment thereafter. The appropriate disregard shall be applied to
				the earned income of each person in the assistance unit.
1. For purposes of budgeting income from new
				employment, earned income shall be budgeted prospectively. Recipients shall
				report earned income no later than 10 days from the date the recipient receives
				his or her first paycheck. The disregard shall not be provided until the
				employment hours and earnings are verified by the employee's pay stub(s) or
				equivalent employer supplied information. For self-employed recipients,
				earnings are the gross income less business expenses. Self-employment hours are
				determined by dividing the recipient's self-employment earnings by the Federal
				minimum wage. CWAs/MWAs have 10 days from the date that such income is reported
				to act on the change. The 100 percent disregard shall then be applied for the
				first full month for which the income will be budgeted.
2. When budgeting new income from employment,
				if the agency is not able to budget the income for the first month following
				the month such income is reported, then the income and the 100 percent
				disregard shall be applied for the first of the next following month.
3. If a recipient's hours of employment are
				reduced below 20 hours per week during the 75-percent disregard period, through
				no fault of his or her own, he or she shall be entitled to receive the balance
				of any unused months of the 75-percent disregard, provided he or she has
				returned to being employed a minimum of 20 hours or more per week and it is
				within the six-month disregard period.
4. If an employable recipient has a
				documented disability that limits the person from accepting 20 hours of
				employment per week, the WFNJ agency may waive the 20 hours or more requirement
				and the recipient shall be entitled to the 75 percent earned income disregard
				for six consecutive months of employment, and the 50 percent earned income
				disregard for each continuous month of employment thereafter.