SR 09-21 Dated 07/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

SUMMARY

This SR releases an increase in the federal minimum wage from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour for covered, nonexempt employees.

POLICY

The increase in the federal minimum wage impacts the monthly income for certain employed individuals and is also used to determine:

·   work registration and student exemption status in the Food Stamp Program;

·   compliance with NHEP work participation requirements if self-employed;

·   a work history for certain refugees; and

·   hourly participation requirements in the Alternative Work Experience Program (AWEP) and the Community Work Experience Program (CWEP). Mandatory AWEP/CWEP participants cannot be required to work for more hours than would be needed to produce an equivalent compensation if the participant were paid at the federal minimum wage, unless more hours are necessary to meet federal work participation requirements.

NEW HEIGHTS SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

The increased federal hourly minimum wage figure of $7.25 was incorporated for the July 24, 2009 effective date into the appropriate New HEIGHTS tables impacting:

·   Food Stamp program work registration exemptions;

·   AWEP and CWEP NHEP participation requirements related to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); and

·   NHEP participation hours for self-employed individuals.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

Section 213.21  Special Verification of Employment Requirements for Refugees

PART 601 TABLE H: Federal Information, Taxes, Income Ceilings, and Minimum Wage Standards

Revised Food Stamp Manual Topics

PART 601 TABLE H: Federal Information, Taxes, Income Ceilings, and Minimum Wage Standards

PART 809  EXEMPTIONS FROM FOOD STAMP WORK REQUIREMENTS

IMPLEMENTATION

The policy released in this SR is effective July 24, 2009.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

No client notification is planned.

TRAINING

No training is necessary or planned.

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-line manuals.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR, and revised On-Line Manuals, will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/DHHS/DFA/LIBRARY, effective June 29, 2009. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Family Assistance and Food Stamp Manuals.

DFA/KD:s