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To be eligible for the Food Assistance Program (FAP, formerly known as Food Stamps), you must meet certain requirements. Some of those requirements deal with employment. These are known as “work rules.” FAP has two types of work requirements, general work rules and special work rules for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD). Different rules apply to each type. If you receive both cash and food assistance, you must follow the Family Independence Program (FIP, or cash assistance) work rules. To learn more about FIP work rules, read Family Independence Program (FIP, or Cash Assistance) Work Rules and PATH. If you receive only FAP, you must follow the FAP work rules.

To learn more about FAP and to see if are eligible, read An Overview of the Food Assistance Program (FAP, or Food Stamps).

FAP General Work Rules

To be or to stay eligible for FAP, you cannot quit your job if you are working 30 hours or more per week. You also may not voluntarily reduce your work hours to fewer than 30 per week without good cause. Read "Good Cause" below to learn more.

If you are not working, or if you are working fewer than 30 hours per week, you cannot refuse a job offer. You also cannot refuse to do employment−related activities that are required to get unemployment benefits. To learn more about these activities, read Getting Unemployment Benefits: Your Rights & Responsibilities.

Good Cause for Not Following General Work Rules

Sometimes things happen that prevent you from following the general work rules. If you have good cause (a good reason for not following the rules), you won’t be penalized. If you are getting FAP only, having a good cause may include:

You recently moved out of your county because of another household member’s job or education/ training;
You have a job offer that wants to pay you less than minimum wage, including tips, or your job causes you to lose income.
Your job affects your religious observations.
Your job is on strike or at a lockout site;
You need childcare, but none is affordable or available;
No affordable transportation is available to you;
You have experienced discrimination because of your job;
You quit your job because of unsafe or harmful working conditions.
You quit your job because your employer didn’t give you steady work, didn’t pay you on time or asked you to do something illegal; or
You refused a job offer that didn’t match your skills or work experience.

General Work Rule Deferrals (Exceptions)

Having a work rule deferral means you are excused from the work rules. If you are getting FAP only, you can be excused from general work rules if you are:

Age 60 or older;
Under the age of 16;
Caring for a child under 6 years old who is getting FAP as part of your household;
Attending high school, adult education, or you are in a GED program for at least part-time;
Injured, physically ill, or mentally ill;
Caring for a household member with a disability;
Pregnant with medical complications;
Applying for or receiving unemployment benefits;
Appealing a denial of unemployment benefits;
Applying for both Social Security Income and FAP through the Social Security Administration;
In substance abuse treatment or rehabilitation.

If you have questions about FAP general work rules, deferrals, or good cause, contact your local Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) office. Your local legal services office may also be able to help you. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find a legal services office in your area.

Penalties for Not Following FAP General Work Rules

If you are getting FAP, the first time you violate a work rule, MDHHS will reduce or stop your benefits. This penalty will last for at least one month and will continue until you follow the rules. If you violate the rules again, MDHHS will reduce or cut your benefits for six months and the penalty will continue until you begin following the rules.

If you are applying for FAP and you violate the work rules, MDHHS can deny your application. If you violate the general work rules but you have a good cause (reason), you can avoid a penalty.

FAP Special Work Rules for Adults Without Kids

Special FAP time limits and work requirements apply to you if you are an adult, you don’t have a disability, and you are living in a household without young children or a pregnant person. People who must follow these special rules are called Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWD).

In 2020, ABAWDs in Michigan were not required to follow special work rules because they were a part of a waiver. A waiver is when an agency decides not to enforce a rule. In this case, the federal government decided not to require work rules for certain ABAWDs.

Recently, the waiver expired. Beginning on December 1, 2025, ABAWDs will have to begin following special work rules to get FAP benefits. There are some exceptions. ABAWDs in the following counties and cities do not have to follow special work rules after December 1, 2025:

Counties: Alcona, Alger, Arenac, Cheboygan, Iosco, Iron, Mackinac, Montmorency, Oceana, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Presque Isle, Roscommon and Schoolcraft.

Cities: Bay City, Detroit, Eastpointe, Flint, Jackson and Saginaw.

Before December 1, 2025, you are considered an ABAWD, if all of the following are true:

You are between the ages of 18 and 54;
You do not have a disability;
You do not live in a household with a child under the age of 18;
You do not live in a household with a pregnant person(including yourself).

Beginning on December 1, 2025, you will also be considered an ABAWD if:

You are between the ages of 54 and 65
You are a caregiver to a child 14 years or older
You are unhoused or homeless
You are a veteran
You are a youth aging out of foster care

You will be considered an ABAWD even if you were part of a group that was previously protected from these requirements.

Satisfying the Special Work Rules

You need to do one of the following to satisfy the special work rules:

Work at least 20 hours per week or 80 hours a month;
Perform community service with a non-profit organization listed by your local MDHHS office;
Participate in Michigan Works! Agency (MWA) Employment and Training program for at least 80 hours a month;
Combine work hours and MWA work hours to get at least 80 hours a month;
Participate in MWA-assigned workfare;

MDHHS must give you oral and written notice explaining that you are required to follow the special work rules. MDHHS will also check if you have a deferral (excuse) or good cause (good reason) that prevents you from following the work rules. The written notice is called Food Assistance Program Work Requirements Notice. MDHHS may orally explain these requirements to you:

When you apply for FAP benefits,
When your FAP benefits are being redetermined,
When you report a change to your case, or
Anytime you become subject to the work rules.

If you have questions about the new special work rules, contact your local MDHHS office. You can also go to their website on Work Requirements for Food Assistance to view frequently asked questions about the new rules that begin on December 1, 2025.

Penalties for Not Following Special Work Rules: The 3−Month Time Limit

If you are an ABAWD, you must follow special work rules to get FAP benefits every month. If you do not follow the work rules, you can only get FAP for three months during a three-year period.

If you are a new ABAWD as of December 2025, the time clock for the three-month limit does not begin until after the first month of receiving benefits.

If you are an ABAWD before December 2025, the three-year periods are:

Current Period: January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2027
Next Period: January 1, 2028, through December 31, 2030

Months that you follow the work rules and get food assistance do not count towards the three-month limit.

Every month that you do not follow the work rules, and you do not have good cause or a deferral, counts towards your three-month FAP limit.

For example: John is an ABAWD. He applies for FAP benefits on February 6th and gets approved. His benefits for February will be prorated, and he will not have to follow work requirements for that month. In March, John received his first full month of benefits. MDHHS told John to go to the Michigan Works Agency (MWA) in March, but he did not complete 80 hours of MWA participation. The month of March will count towards John’s three-month limit for FAP benefits.

If you received FAP benefits in a different state, the time limit still applies. This means that the months that you did not follow the work rules in the other state can also be counted towards the limit in Michigan.

Sometimes people get a deferral, which means they are excused from following the work rules. Other times someone may have good cause (a good reason) for not following the rules. To learn more about deferrals, read “Time Limit Deferrals for Special Work Rules” below. To learn more about good cause, read “Good Cause for ABAWDs” below.

Time Limit Deferrals for Special Work Rules

You could be deferred (excused) from the three-month time limit. If you have a deferral, the time limit wouldn’t apply to you. These are reasons why you could be deferred:

A minor lives in the household and shares food with you, even if the minor is not eligible for or unable to get FAP;
Starting in December 2025, a minor who is 14 years or younger and lives in the household and shares food with you.
You are pregnant, or live with a pregnant person and buy and prepare food with them;
You qualify for a general work rules deferral
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) determines you cannot work.
You are a member of a Native American tribe, an Urban Native American or California Native American.

These are the reasons why MDHHS would determine you cannot work:

You have a physical or mental disability;
You are a survivor of domestic violence; or
You are struggling with alcohol or drug addiction.

Before December 2025, MDHHS could also determine that unhoused individuals have an excuse from the three-month limit. After December 2025, homelessness will no longer be a time limit deferral.

The MDHHS may determine you are unable to work if you apply for or receive:

Veteran’s disability benefits
Workers’ compensation
Social Security Income (SSI) approval or appeal
State issued temporary or permanent disability benefits
You are participating in the Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) program.

If it has been determined you are mentally or physically unable to work, tell your MDHHS caseworker. They will conduct an interview about your inability to work.

Your local legal services office may also be able to help you. If you qualify for free legal help from your local legal services office, the Guide to Legal Help will give you their contact information.

Good Cause for ABAWDs

Sometimes things happen that prevent you from satisfying the work rules. Good cause means you have a good reason for not satisfying the work rules. If you are an ABAWD getting FAP, you have good cause if the following are true:

You did not satisfy the work rules for reasons beyond your control;
The situation is only temporary;

Some examples of things that might count as good cause are:

Being sick;
The death or illness of a household member that requires you to stay home;
No transportation was available to you;
Lack of work available;
Household emergency, or;
You are temporarily unfit for work.

You may need proof of the reason why you weren’t able to follow the work rules, such as a doctor’s note. If you have a good cause, MDHHS will treat it as if you satisfied the work rules for that month.

If you believe you have good cause, speak with your caseworker. Your local legal services office may also be able to help you. If you qualify for free legal help from your local legal services office, the Guide to Legal Help will give you their contact information.

Appealing an MDHHS Decision

If you don’t agree with a decision MDHHS makes about work rules and your benefits, you have a right to request a hearing. If you request the hearing within 10 days of the date on the notice, you can ask to continue getting your benefits until the hearing decision is made. You may need to repay those benefits if MDHHS decides that you should not have received them. You might be eligible for retroactive benefits if you request a hearing within 90 days of the negative action and you win. This means you could get a payment on your Bridge Card to make up for your benefits that MDHHS did not pay you but should have.

If MDHHS made a wrong decision about your case, request a hearing. You can use the Do-It-Yourself MDHHS Hearing Request tool to complete your request. Make a copy of the form to keep for your records.

You can mail, fax, or drop off your hearing request in person. If you choose to mail your request, you may want to send it by certified mail. Be sure to direct it to the Hearing Coordinator, not your caseworker. If you drop off your request, sign the log book in the office lobby (if available). If you have a phone, take a picture of your signature in the log book for your records. You could also ask the person who takes the request to stamp your copy as proof of when you dropped it off.

If you have questions about retroactive benefits, your local legal services office may be able to help you. Use the Guide to Legal Help to find a legal services office near you.

The Food Assistance Program (FAP) Work Rules