7 U.S.C. § 2029 — Workfare

(a) Program plan; guidelines; compliance. (1) The Secretary must allow any political subdivision in any State that applies and submits a plan complying with the Secretary’s guidelines to operate a “workfare program.” This section does not define “workfare program.” Every member of a household participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program who is not exempt under subsection (b) must accept an offer from the subdivision to work for it, or may seek such an offer, in exchange for the household’s allotment under section 2017(a). Each hour of work entitles the household to a part of its allotment equal in value to 100 percent of the higher of the applicable State minimum wage or the Federal minimum hourly rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. (2)(A) The Secretary must issue guidelines under paragraph (1) that, as far as practicable, allow a political subdivision to design and operate a workfare program under this section that is compatible and consistent with similar workfare programs operated by that subdivision. (B) A political subdivision may meet this section’s requirements by operating any workfare program that the Secretary determines meets the provisions and protections provided by this section.
(b) Exempt household members. A household member is exempt from the workfare requirements imposed by this section if the member—(1) is exempt from section 2015(d)(1) under clause (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) of section 2015(d)(2); (2) at the operating agency’s option, is subject to and currently and actively participating satisfactorily for at least 20 hours a week in a work activity required under title IV of the Social Security Act; (3) is mentally or physically unfit; (4) is under 16 years old; (5) is 60 years old or older; or (6) is a parent or another caretaker of a child in a household in which another member is subject to this section’s requirements or is employed full time.
(c) Value or duration of work. An operating agency may not require a participating member to work in a workfare position to an extent that either—(1) the work is worth more than the allotment to which the household is otherwise entitled; or (2) the work, when added to any other hours that the member works for compensation, in cash or in kind, in another capacity during that week, exceeds 30 hours in the week.
(d) Nature, conditions, and costs of work. The operating agency must—(1) not provide work that replaces or prevents the employment of a person who is not participating in the workfare program; (2) provide the same benefits and working conditions provided at the job site to employees doing comparable work for comparable hours; and (3) reimburse participants for their actual transportation costs and other actual costs that are reasonably necessary and directly related to participating in the program, but the total reimbursement may not exceed $25 per month.
(e) Job-search period. Before making workfare assignments, the operating agency may allow a job-search period of up to 30 days after eligibility is determined.
(f) Disqualification. A person or household may become ineligible under section 2015(d)(1) to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program for failing to comply with this section.
(g) Payment of administrative expenses. (1) The Secretary must pay each operating agency 50 percent of all administrative expenses the agency incurs in operating a workfare program, including reimbursements to participants for work-related expenses described in subsection (d)(3). (2)(A) From 50 percent of the funds saved from employment related to a workfare program operated under this section, the Secretary must pay each operating agency an amount no greater than the administrative expenses described in paragraph (1) for which that paragraph provides no reimbursement. (B) “Funds saved from employment related to a workfare program operated under this section” means an amount equal to three times the dollar value of the decrease in allotments issued to households, to the extent that the decrease results from wages household members receive during the first month of employment that begins after those members start the employment, if the employment starts—(i) while the members are participating for the first time in a workfare program operated under this section; or (ii) during the 30-day period beginning on the date that first participation ends. (3) If the Secretary finds that a political subdivision has failed to comply with the workfare requirements, the Secretary may suspend or cancel some or all of these payments, or may withdraw the subdivision’s approval to operate a workfare program. This section does not define “political subdivision,” “operating agency,” or “allotment.”