Smith v. Wing

(N.Y. Sup. Ct. New York County July 31, 1997) ; Clearinghouse Number: 52223

Description

Welfare Recipient Must Participate in Workfare Program That Conflicts with Independently Arranged Educational Program

Abstract

The court has held that petitioner welfare recipient may not avoid the requirements of the state’s Work Experience Program (WEP) even though participating in WEP will interfere with her ability to attend school. Petitioner is a high school graduate who has been trained as a customer service worker and paralegal and has worked as an administrative assistant and stenographer-secretary. After respondent city agency notified petitioner that she would be required to take a work assignment of 26 hours per week as a condition of continuing to receive home relief, she informed her caseworker that she is a full-time student and would be unable to work on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays because of her class schedule. The agency refused to conform her work assignment to her school schedule, and she appealed. The court found that petitioner’s educational efforts should be applauded. Nevertheless, the court held that public assistance is not available to train people capable of obtaining available employment to train for a new line of work. In so ruling, the court rejected petitioner’s argument that the agency acted arbitrarily because it had failed to develop an employability plan for her. The court found that petitioner’s unswerving position that her participation in the WEP program must fit into her school schedule rendered the completion of an employability plan a wasted effort.

Additional Information

Docket Date
1997-07-31 00:00:00+00:00

Files

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