Understanding 3SquaresVT
Work Reporting Requirements

General Work Requirements +

Who needs to meet the General Work Requirement?

Everyone ages 16 - 59, unless they meet an exemption or have "good cause" for not being able to work. (See "Key Terms" for more information about good cause.)

How can someone meet the General Work Requirement?

• Report employment status (employed or unemployed) to ESD either on the application or in the interview.

• Work at least 30 hours per week or make $935.25 per month and not quit or reduce hours below 30 hours per week without good cause.

  • Good Cause includes things out of someone’s control like illness, no childcare for a child under 12, or work conditions that are unreasonable. If ESD determines that a person has good cause, there will be no change to their 3SquaresVT benefits. If circumstances change, this must be reported at Interim Report or Recertification, whichever comes first. See the Key Terms & FAQs section below for more information.

• Not quit a job without good cause (if already working any amount)

• Not refuse a job offer at any point unless it is not suitable.
  • ESD has a list of reasons why a job may not be suitable. See the Key Terms & FAQs section below for more information.

People DO NOT need to meet the general work requirement if they answer yes to at least one of the following:

Age and Student exemptions

• I am younger than 16 or older than 59.
  • People are eligible for this in the month they turn 60.
• I am 16 or 17 and living with my parents or guardians.
• I am a student enrolled at least half-time in a school, training program, or Institution of Higher Education.
  • This includes adults going to high school or Vermont Adult Learning classes at least half time. The exemption continues during vacations and other breaks if the student intends to register and attend for the next school term. The exemption ends when the student graduates, or is suspended, expelled, or drops out.

Parental Care exemptions

• I am caring for a child under age 6.
  • Only one parent or caretaker per child under 6 may receive this exemption. No verification is needed, unless requested by ESD.
• I am responsible for the care of another household member who needs help caring for themselves.
  • A statement from a qualified health professional is required for verification.Verification is not needed if participating in ESD’s Essential Person program.

Employment and Unemployment exemptions

• I am already employed or self-employed 30 or more per week or make $935.25 per month.
  • Person can be employed or self-employed. Someone earning VT’s minimum wage meets the earnings threshold by working 17 hours per week ($224.06/week)
• I am receiving or have applied for Unemployment Compensation Benefits.
• I am meeting work participation requirements for Reach Up benefits.

Medical exemptions

• I am a regular participant in a drug or alcohol addiction program.
  • No verification is needed, unless the information provided is unclear and must be clarified by ESD. ESD just needs to know the name of the program (i.e., NA/AA, receiving treatment from methadone clinic).
• I am physically or mentally unable to work.
  • The following can be used as verification: meeting the definition of disabled, a statement from a qualified health professional, receiving VA disability compensation (regardless of disability percentage rating), or receiving temporary disability income from any agency. A completed Form 210A is required.
• I am getting or have applied for disability benefits from any source Disability benefits include, but are not limited to: pensions, worker’s compensation, disability insurance, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and veterans disability.

What happens if someone needs to but does not meet the general work requirement or an exemption?

Unless someone has "good cause" for not meeting the general work requirement, they may see a decrease or end to their 3SquaresVT benefits for a certain amount of time, until they meet the requirement or prove that they are newly exempt. Someone may lose their benefits for a certain amount of time–the length of time depends on whether they’ve lost benefits for this reason before.

• The first time someone loses benefits for not meeting this work requirement, they will lose benefits for 1 month.
• The second time is 3 months of loss of benefits.
• The third and subsequent time(s) is 6 months of loss of benefits.
  

Someone whose benefits have been stopped due to the above, may become eligible again by:

• Becoming exempt from the General Work Requirements; or
• Serving the minimum disqualification period (see above) and meeting the work requirement. If the person has not met the work requirement by the time the minimum disqualification period ends, they will not receive benefits until they meet the work requirement.

See Work Requirements Desk Aid

Time Limited Benefits Work Requirements +

Who needs to meet the Time Limited Benefit Work Requirement?

Everyone who is ages 18 through 52 who is not either 1) pregnant, 2) living with a child(ren) under 18, or 3) living with a disability. People can only get three months of 3SquaresVT benefits in a 3-year period unless they either live in a town that has a geographic exemption, meet an exemption, or report work activity.

People ARE NOT subject to time limits if they answer yes to at least one of the following:

• I meet a General Work Requirement exemption (see above).
• I am under 18 or over 52.
• I am a Veteran.
• I am experiencing homelessness.
• I am under 25 and am/was in foster care on my 18th birthday.
• I am pregnant.
• There are children in my 3SquaresVT household under the age of 18.
  • In this case, all members of the 3SquaresVT household are exempt from the time limited benefits work requirements. Unlike General Work Requirements, there is not a requirement for someone who is caring for the child under 18.
• I have a personal issue that stops me from meeting the work reporting requirements.
  • This is different from the General Work Requirement exemption of being physically or mentally unable to complete work activity. This “personal issue” would not rise to the level of a medical determination, and can be verified by a service provider (i.e., housing caseworker, direct application assistor at a CAP or AAA, DOC official, etc.) by completing page 2 of Form 210A.
• I live in a town with a geographic exemption. ESD has a list of geographically exempt towns. Refer to Section1300.3(a) of the 3SquaresVT Program Manual for the most up-to-date list.

How does someone meet the work requirement if they are subject to time limits?

By answering yes to at least one of the following:

• I am working or engaged in a combination of volunteer, employment, or in-kind/barter services for 20 or more hours per week or 80 hours per month.
• I am completing/participating in a Workfare program by volunteering at any public or private non-profit agency and completing the hours determined by my 3SquaresVT benefit and the current state minimum wage.
  • The non-profit must complete the Workfare Verification Form as verification. See the Key Terms & FAQs section below for more information.
• I am participating in a qualified employment and training (E&T) program such as the Individual Career Advancement Network (ICAN),Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIOA), E&T programs for veterans operated by Department of Labor or Department of Veterans Affairs, or the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for 80 hours or more in a 30-day period

What if someone does not meet the time limited benefits work requirement and is not eligible for an exemption?

ESD will track and count each month that a participant receives 3SquaresVT while not meeting the work requirement (without good cause). Once three full months have been counted, the participant will lose 3SquaresVT benefits until November 2025, or until they meet the work requirement or an exemption.

If someone loses benefits, they may regain their 3SquaresVT eligibility by:

• Meeting the work requirement and reporting to ESD
• Meeting an exemption and reporting to ESD
• When the 36-month time limit period resets (Contact ESD for this information)
• Qualifying for the cure by meeting a work requirement and receiving an additional 3 months of consecutive monthly benefits.

See Time Limited Benefits Screener/Desk Aid.

Key Terms & FAQs +

What is “good cause” for not being able to meet the general work requirement?

• People have good cause for quitting a job or reducing work hours if one of the following is true:
  • There were circumstances beyond their control. Examples include, but are not limited to: illness, household emergency
  • A job became unsuitable (see below for definition of “unsuitable”)
  • There was discrimination by an employer based on a protected class
  • Work demands or conditions make it unreasonable to continue employment, such as working without being paid on schedule.
    
• They accepted another job of at least 30 hours per week (or equivalent) or enrolled in school at least half-time.
• Another household member accepted a job or enrolled in school at least half-time in another county or state, causing the household to move.
• They are under the age of 60, retire, and the employer recognizes it as retirement.
• They accepted a job which did not materialize or meet the hourly criteria or weekly earnings through no fault of their own.
• They leave a job that requires frequent moves, such as Migrant Worker or Seasonal Farmworker.
• When adequate dependent care is reported as unavailable for children between the ages of 6 and 12-years-old.

How does the state define a job as being “unsuitable” for the purposes of meeting a work requirement?

• The wage offered is less than: the applicable federal or Vermont Minimum Wage, or 80 percent of the federal minimum wage, if neither the federal nor Vermont minimum wage is applicable.
• The job is on a piece-rate basis and the average hourly earnings are less than the hourly wage as defined above.
• The person must join, resign from, or refrain from joining any legitimate labor organization to get or keep the job.
• The job offered is at a site currently subject to a strike or lockout, unless: the strike has been enjoined under Section 208 of the Labor-Management Relations Act (commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act), or an injunction has been issued under Section 10 of the Railway Labor Act.
• Daily commuting time exceeds 2 hours a day, not including taking a child to and from childcare. Note: When a household move results in more than 2 hours commuting time, the job is unsuitable. This applies whether a person leaves a job before or after the move.
• The distance to the place of employment is too far to walk, and neither public nor private transportation is available to get the person to the job site.
• The person is physically or mentally unfit to perform the job. Note: Verification is required.
• The job is offered within the first 30 days of registration and is not in the person’s major field of experience.
• The working hours or nature of the job interferes with the person’s religious observations, convictions, or beliefs.

What is “the cure”?
The cure is an additional three countable months for people subject to the TLBWR. To be eligible for the cure, someone has to have met the time limited benefits work requirements AFTER receiving their initial three countable months. The cure then gives someone an additional 3 (consecutive) months of benefits.

How are people living in certain towns “geographically exempt”?
Geographic exemption of towns is based on unemployment data.

What is Workfare?
Workfare is the name for the option that people subject to the TLBWR have to volunteer at any public or private non-profit organization. The participant is responsible for identifying the non-profit organization. Examples of allowable organizations include but are not limited to: churches, senior centers, town offices, food shelves. The number of hours someone has to volunteer as a Workfare participant is determined by the 3SVT benefit amount divided by the Vermont minimum wage.

What is ICAN?
ICAN is operated by the state of Vermont and offers free employment and training supports to 3SquaresVT participants. ICAN is personalized to a household member's needs and will help household members overcome the barriers they may have to employment. Household members enrolled in ICAN may qualify for participant reimbursements for costs that are related to their participation. Examples of eligible participant reimbursements include costs related to transportation, clothing, phones, and childcare.

Anyone can find out more by visiting the ICAN webpage, which includes ICAN orientation, enrollment information and local resources. If a person is unable to access the information online, they may call the Benefits Service Center at 800-479-6151 to get connected to their local ICAN team.