Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-01-05-.06 - DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY AND LEVEL OF BENEFITS

(1) Income Considered For Households With Less Than $150 Monthly Gross Income. The eligibility and benefit level for all households with less than $150 gross monthly income shall be calculated in the same manner as any other household.

(2) Income Considered For Destitute Households. Households meeting the criteria in section 1240-1-5-.04(2), Destitute Households-Terminated Source, shall have their eligibility and level of benefits calculated for the month of application by considering only income which is received between the first of the month and the date of application. Households meeting the criteria in section 1240-1-5-.04(3), Destitute Households-New Source, shall have any income received after the date of application disregarded. Households meeting both source criteria is defined in section 1240-1-5-.04(4) shall have income considered if it is received between the first of the month and the date of application and shall have any income disregarded received after the date of application.

(a) Exception-Travel Advances. Some employers provide travel advances to cover the travel costs of new employees who must journey to the location of their new employment. To the extent that these payments are excluded as reimbursement, receipt of travel advances will not affect the determination of whether a household is destitute. However, if the travel advance is by written contract an advance of wages that will be subtracted from wages later earned by the employee, rather than a reimbursement, the wage advance shall count as income. In addition, the receipt of a wage advance for travel costs of a new employee shall not affect the determination of whether subsequent payments from the employer are from a new source of income, nor whether a household shall be considered destitute.

(3) Households which apply after the 15th of the month and are entitled to expedited service, whether or not all verifications have been provided, shall have their benefits prorated from the day of application to the end of the application month and also will be certified for the following month with no proration of benefits. Benefits for the actual month of application and the next calendar month are issued simultaneously. However, the benefits for the next month shall not be issued until all necessary verification, not already provided, has been provided.

(4) When Expedited Procedures Apply. The above procedures apply at initial application and at certification, but only for the first month of each certification period. At recertification, income from a new source is disregarded in the first month of the new certification period if income or more than $25 will not be received from this new source by the 10th calendar day after the date of the household's normal issuance cycle. At recertification (timely reapplication), households are designated destitute solely to receive entitlement to special income calculation procedures (i.e. disregard of income from a new source in the first month of the certification period).

(5) Households which apply after the 15th of the month, which are eligible for expedited service, and whose verification is not postponed must be issued their second month's benefits at the same time the initial month's benefits are issued.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1240-01-05-.06

Original rule filed August 15, 1980; effective September 29, 1980. Repeal and new rule filed December 10, 1981; effective January 25, 1982. Amendment filed March 28, 1983; effective April 27, 1983. Amendment filed April 4, 1997; effective June 18, 1997.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-202; 71-1-105; 71-3-157; 71-3-158; PL 104-193; 7 CFR 273.2.