§ 12-20-11-1 — Public projects work requirement for township assistance recipients; exceptions; determination of suitability; value of performance; furnished equipment; supervision; insurance; displacement of employees; failure to comply

(a) The township trustee shall obligate any
adult member of a recipient household to do any work needed to be
done within the county or an adjoining township in any other county for
any nonprofit agency or governmental unit, including the state, having
jurisdiction in those townships, unless:
(1) the obligated individual is not physically able to perform the
proposed work;
(2) the obligated individual is a minor or is at least sixty-five (65)
years of age;
(3) the obligated individual has full-time employment at the time
the recipient receives township assistance;
(4) the obligated individual is needed to care for an individual as
a result of the individual's age or physical condition;
(5) the township trustee determines that there is no work available
for any adult member of the recipient household; or
(6) the individual obligated to perform the work is, at the
direction of the township trustee, attending:
(A) courses under section 3 of this chapter; or
(B) a job training program under IC 12-20-12-1 or another job
training program approved by the township trustee.
(b) The township trustee shall determine a township assistance
applicant's suitability to perform available work under this section. The
township trustee may provide for medical examinations necessary to
make the determination.
(c) A township assistance recipient shall perform an amount of work
that equals the value of assistance received by the township assistance
recipient or the recipient's household. The township assistance
recipient shall receive credit for the work performed, as assigned by the
township trustee, at a rate not less than the federal minimum wage.
(d) The unit of government or nonprofit agency for which work is
performed under this section shall furnish the necessary tools,
materials, or transportation, unless the trustee agrees in writing to
furnish the necessary tools, materials, or transportation.
(e) Supervision of the work of a township assistance recipient under
this section is the responsibility of the governmental unit or nonprofit
agency for which the work is performed.
(f) The township trustee shall see that a township assistance
recipient performing work under this section is covered by adequate
liability insurance for injuries or damages suffered by or caused by the
township assistance recipient.
(g) A township assistance recipient may not be assigned to work that
would result in the displacement of governmental employees or in the
reduction of hours worked by governmental employees.
(h) The failure of a township assistance recipient to perform work
assigned by the township trustee within a reasonable period required
by the township trustee is a basis for denying further assistance to the
recipient or the recipient's household for not more than one hundred
eighty (180) days, unless the recipient shows good cause for not
performing the work.
[Pre-1992 Revision Citation: 12-2-1-10(a) part.]

Legislative History

As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.14. Amended by P.L.51-1996, SEC.41; P.L.73-2005, SEC.55.