Mandatory Employer Disclosure of Work Refusal Behaviors in Verification Forms for All Federal and State Assistance Programs
Submitted By: [Aimee Hoff] – Small Business Owner in the Restaurant Industry
Category: Health and Human Services / Labor and Employment / Economic Opportunity
Policy Summary:
Require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with state HHS departments and other relevant agencies (e.g., USDA for SNAP, DOL for unemployment benefits), to update all employer verification questionnaires for government assistance programs. These updates would mandate employers to report specific employee behaviors that indicate refusal of available work opportunities, such as declining additional hours, rejecting raises, frequent call-offs, or early departures without valid reasons. This applies to all major assistance programs, including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Medicaid, unemployment insurance, housing assistance, and other federally funded benefits. The goal is to ensure that able-bodied recipients actively pursue self-sufficiency by accepting reasonable work offers, reducing dependency on government aid, and alleviating chronic labor shortages faced by employers.
Detailed Problem Description:
As a small family-owned restaurant owner, I’ve witnessed firsthand how the current system inadvertently discourages workforce participation among able-bodied individuals. The existing employer verification forms—used when recipients apply for or renew benefits—only request basic information like wages, scheduled hours, pay dates, and employment status. This limited scope fails to capture patterns of behavior where employees deliberately limit their earnings or availability to maintain eligibility for benefits.
For years, this has created a perverse incentive structure. I’ve repeatedly offered extra shifts to employees who are fully capable and have the time, only for them to refuse because accepting would push their income over benefit thresholds, risking loss of SNAP food stamps, Medicaid coverage, or other aid. In one instance, an employee explicitly asked me not to process a well-deserved raise, fearing it would disqualify them from multiple programs. Others frequently call off shifts, leave early without notice, or underperform to avoid promotions that could increase their hours or pay. These are not isolated cases; they’ve persisted and worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbating labor shortages in industries like hospitality, retail, and service sectors.
The impact on employers is devastating. My business has been chronically short-staffed for months, forcing me to turn away customers, reduce operating hours, and increase workloads on reliable staff—leading to burnout and higher turnover. Nationwide, small businesses like mine struggle to compete for talent when potential hires prioritize maintaining benefits over full employment. According to industry reports, labor participation rates remain below pre-pandemic levels in many areas, with millions of job openings going unfilled. This not only hampers economic growth but also burdens taxpayers, as prolonged dependency on assistance programs drains public resources that could be redirected to those truly in need, such as the elderly, disabled, or families facing genuine hardships.
Broader economic effects include stifled innovation and growth for small businesses, which employ nearly half of the U.S. workforce. When employees game the system by refusing opportunities, it perpetuates a cycle of underemployment, reduces overall productivity, and contributes to inflation as businesses raise prices to cover inefficiencies. This issue isn’t limited to SNAP; it ripples across all assistance programs, where income thresholds create “benefit cliffs” that discourage upward mobility.
Proposed Policy Changes:
To address this, I propose the following mandatory additions to all employer verification forms across federal and state assistance programs:
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Refusal of Additional Hours or Shifts: Employers must report if the employee has been offered and declined extra hours or shifts in the past 6-12 months, including the number of instances, approximate hours offered, and any stated reasons (e.g., “to avoid losing benefits”).
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Rejection of Raises or Promotions: Require disclosure of any instances where the employee refused a pay increase, promotion, or performance-based bonus, with details on the offered amount and employee rationale if provided.
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Attendance and Reliability Issues: Include sections for reporting patterns of frequent call-offs, tardiness, early departures, or no-shows (e.g., more than 3 occurrences per month without medical or family emergency documentation). Employers could provide metrics like average hours worked versus scheduled, or absenteeism rates.
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Work Performance and Availability: Add questions on whether the employee has expressed limitations on availability (e.g., refusing weekends or overtime) despite business needs, and if they’ve requested schedule reductions to stay under income limits.
These disclosures would be submitted under penalty of perjury, with protections for employers against retaliation (e.g., anonymous reporting options or whistleblower safeguards). Agencies would use this information during benefit reviews to flag cases for further investigation, potentially requiring recipients to accept reasonable work offers as a condition of continued aid. Waivers could apply for verifiable hardships, such as childcare constraints or medical issues, to ensure fairness.
Implementation would involve HHS issuing updated federal guidelines within 6 months, with states required to comply for program funding. Training for caseworkers and digital tools for secure form submission could streamline the process without undue burden on employers.
Expected Benefits and Impact:
This policy would promote personal responsibility and self-sufficiency, encouraging able-bodied recipients to fully engage in the workforce. For employers, it would level the playing field by reducing artificial barriers to hiring and retention, helping fill millions of open positions and boosting economic output. Taxpayers would benefit from reduced long-term assistance costs, potentially saving billions annually. Ultimately, it aligns with the “Make America Healthy Again” ethos by fostering a culture of opportunity, where government aid serves as a temporary bridge rather than a permanent crutch.
This change is long overdue and critical now, as we rebuild post-pandemic. I urge the administration to prioritize this to support small businesses and hardworking Americans.
Supporting Data/References:
- Labor shortages in service industries: Over 1 million hospitality jobs remain unfilled as of 2025 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Benefit cliffs: Studies show recipients often forgo $1 in earnings to avoid losing $2-3 in benefits (e.g., reports from the Federal Reserve and think tanks like the Heritage Foundation).
Thank you for considering this suggestion. Let’s make government assistance a pathway to independence, not a barrier to work.