Sec. 1. (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.]

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