The California CalFresh program does not provide a work supplementation program. But other jurisdictions may. The short version is that a SNAP work supplementation program is a program where the SNAP program gives a person’s SNAP benefits to an employer as cash, instead of to the person herself. The employer then will hire that person for a full-time or part-time job. [7 U.S.C. § 2025(b).]
A work supplementation job must pay the person at least the minimum wage. A person participating in a SNAP work supplementation program will not get SNAP benefits even if the person’s wages from the job are low enough that she would still qualify for SNAP benefits. But if the SNAP allotment would have been more than what she gets in wages from the job, the state must give her SNAP benefits to make up the difference. [Id.]
A work supplementation job must comply with the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. [See 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq.] The employer must also give the person the same benefits (e.g., sick leave, health coverage and workers’ compensation) that the employer gives to other employees not in the work supplementation program. [Id.]