Johns v. Stewart

• Decision Date: 20 June 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-4161,94-4161
• Citation: 57 F.3d 1544
• Parties: 130 Lab.Cas. P 33,272, 48 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 248 Michael C. JOHNS; and John Davies, individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Robert Witbeck, individually, Plaintiffs, v. Michael STEWART, in his capacity as Executive Director of the Utah Department of Human Services; Emma Chacon, in her capacity as Director of the Office of Recovery Services, Defendants- Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Page 1544

57 F.3d 1544

130 Lab.Cas. P 33,272, 48 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 248

Michael C. JOHNS; and John Davies, individually and on behalf of all other persons similarly situated Plaintiffs-Appellants and Robert Witbeck, individually, Plaintiffs, v. Michael STEWART, in his capacity as Executive Director of the Utah Department of Human Services; Emma Chacon, in her capacity as Director of the Office of Recovery Services Defendants- Appellees.

No. 94-4161.

United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit.

June 20, 1995.

Michael E. Bulson, (Thomas McWhorter with him on the brief) of Utah Legal Services, Inc., Ogden, UT, for plaintiffs-appellants.

Billy L. Walker, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Jan Graham, Atty. Gen., Tamara K. Prince, Asst. Atty. Gen., with him on the brief), Salt Lake City, UT, for defendants-appellees.

Before TACHA, ALDISERT, ^* and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges.

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs Michael C. Johns and John Davies brought a class action suit on behalf of all persons who have received or will receive federal Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") benefits and who have had or will have some portion of their SSI benefits withheld by Defendants as reimbursement for public assistance provided to Plaintiffs by the State of Utah. Plaintiffs alleged Defendants, Michael Stewart and Emma Chacon, in their capacities as directors of the Utah Department of Human Services ("DHS") and Office of Recovery Services ("ORS"), respectively: (1) wrongfully withheld their SSI benefits, and (2) unlawfully compensated Plaintiffs below minimum wage for the hours they participated in two Utah public assistance programs. The district court granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment.

I.

Congress established the SSI program in 1972 to provide cash grants to blind, disabled, or elderly persons (age 65 or older) with low income. 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1381-83. Congress failed to provide, however, a mechanism whereby eligible individuals could obtain immediate cash assistance. Persons who applied for SSI benefits with the Social Security Administration often waited months, and sometimes years, for a determination of eligibility while their applications were being processed. Although benefits were paid retroactively once a determination of eligibility was made, this did not help the individuals in the interim period while they were incurring living expenses. As a result, many states, including Utah, voluntarily established state assistance programs to help the individuals during that interim period. ¹

Utah established two programs to provide temporary, emergency assistance to needy persons: the Financial Assistance General Assistance/Self-Sufficiency Program ("GA") and Financial Assistance Emergency Work Program ("EWP"). Utah Admin.Code Secs. R810-216, R810-218 (1991 version); Utah-DHS-OFS Vol. II Secs. 808, 810 (1991 version) (hereinafter "Vol. II"). Plaintiffs are recipients of public assistance under Utah's GA and EWP programs.

GA provides temporary cash assistance to individuals with low income to help them meet their basic needs while they are qualifying for SSI. Utah Admin.Code Sec. R810-218-802(1); Vol. II Sec. 810. To obtain assistance under GA, one must complete an application for financial assistance at a local Office of Financial Services. Utah Admin.Code Sec. R810-214-401. To be eligible for GA, one must: (1) meet a needs test; (2) be "unemployable," ² "marginally employable" ³ or 60 years of age or older; and (3) agree to participate in rehabilitative and self-sufficiency activities. Id. at Secs. R810-218-802(1), (5)(c); Vol. II Sec. 810. Persons participating in GA complete a self-sufficiency plan with a case worker. Utah Admin.Code Secs. R810-218-810(6)(a). The self-sufficiency plan sets forth the various rehabilitative and self-sufficiency activities the individual will participate in, such as medical or mental health care programs, alcoholism or drug treatment programs, job search and job training activities, or a Work Experience and Training ("WEAT") project. Id. Participants required to perform a WEAT project as part of their self-sufficiency plan, ⁴ must participate in 96 hours per month of community work, adult education, and skills training activities. Id. at Secs. R810-212-212(4)(c); R810-218-810(10)(c), R810-212-212(5). In exchange for their participation in GA-WEAT, Utah provides persons $233 per month GA benefits plus an additional $45 per month WEAT work allowance.

In addition to other requirements, all GA participants must apply for SSI benefits from the Social Security Administration and follow through with efforts to obtain them. Utah Admin.Code Sec. R810-218-810(7)(a). SSI benefits are available for blind, disabled, and elderly persons with low income. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1381, et seq.. Moreover, SSI benefits cannot be seized, executed, attached, levied, or reached by any other legal process by a state or other creditor. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 407 ⁵; Philpott v. Essex County Welfare Bd., 409 U.S. 413, 415-16, 93 S.Ct. 590, 592, 34 L.Ed.2d 608 (1973). A state may recoup, however, "interim assistance" ⁶ it has provided to individuals under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1383(g)(1). Specifically, Sec. 1383(g)(1) provides:

the Secretary [of Health and Human Services] may, upon written authorization by an individual, withhold benefits due with respect to that individual and may pay to a State ... from the benefits withheld an amount sufficient to reimburse the State for interim assistance furnished on behalf of the individual by the State. ⁷

Pursuant to this procedure, Utah requires all GA participants to complete a Form 75 "Agreement to Repay Interim Assistance," whereby the participants authorize Utah to recover public assistance provided to them out of their retroactive SSI benefits. Utah Admin.Code Secs. R810-218-810(8).

Plaintiff Davies applied for SSI benefits in February 1990. ⁸ In July 1991, while awaiting determination of his SSI benefit application, Davies applied for GA, met the needs test and was deemed otherwise qualified for GA. Davies completed Form 75 and specified that:

I, John E. Davies ... agree to have the Social Security Administration (SSA) send the first payment of my Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment to the Utah State Department of Social Services (DSS), Office of Recovery Services (ORS).

I will repay the public assistance paid to me or paid in my behalf to meet my basic need while my application is pending with SSI. To do this, I agree that ORS will receive my first SSI check. This check will cover the time I will receive interim assistance. ORS will deduct the amount I received in interim assistance not financed by federal funds and refund my balance that may exist. ...

I understand that I will receive the amount of SSI that exceeds the interim payment of public assistance paid to me.

Aplt.App. at 79. ⁹ Davies developed a self-sufficiency plan with a case worker, which included a WEAT project. As a participant in WEAT, he was required to perform 96 hours per month of community work, adult education, and skills training activities. For the community work aspect of his WEAT project, Davies was assigned to drive a van transporting senior citizens for the Weber County Division of Aging. In all, Davies participated 750 hours in WEAT between July 1991 and May 1992. He received a total of $2,765 in GA benefits and WEAT work allowances, which Defendants concede amounts to less than minimum wage.

In April 1992, the Social Security Administration determined Davies was eligible for SSI benefits and mailed an $8,407.33 benefits check to the ORS. Pursuant to Sec. 1383(g)(1) and Davies' written authorization supplied in Form 75, the ORS withheld $2,765 of Davies' SSI benefits check as reimbursement for GA-WEAT benefits provided to him, and remitted to him the $5,642.33 balance.

Like GA-WEAT, EWP is a Utah public assistance program that provides temporary ¹⁰ cash assistance to individuals to help them meet their basic needs in exchange for their participation in a broad range of adult education, short-term skills training, community work and job search activities. Utah Admin.Code Sec. 810-216-601(2); Vol. II Sec. 808. To obtain assistance under EWP, one must complete an application for financial assistance at a local Office of Financial Services. Utah Admin.Code Sec. R810-214-401. To be eligible as an individual participant, a person must meet a needs test, have no dependent children, be able to perform a work project, and agree to comply with EWP participatory standards. Id. at Sec. R810-216-601, 620; Aplee.Supp.App. at 159. Specifically, persons in EWP are required to perform thirty-two hours per week of community work, adult education, and skills training activities, and eight hours per week of job search activities. Id. at Sec. R810-216-620(8); Vol. II Sec. 808.27. In exchange, Utah provides EWP participants $130 bi-weekly assistance (for a single individual in 1991). Utah Admin.Code Sec. R810-216-660(1).

Plaintiff Johns applied for assistance, met the needs test, was deemed otherwise qualified for EWP, and agreed to comply with EWP participatory requirements. Aplt.App. at 50. For his community work project, Johns was assigned in September 1990 to perform maintenance and painting duties at the Brigham City Corporation ("BCC"). In October 1990, Johns fell from a ladder while painting at BCC and sustained injuries leading him to apply for SSI benefits. Johns participated 413 total hours in EWP through January 1991 and received $1,124 EWP benefits, which Defendants concede amounts to less than minimum wage.

Johns withdrew from EWP in January 1991 as a result of a hernia and applied in February 1991 for GA benefits. Johns was approved for GA benefits (but not assigned to WEAT) and completed Form 75. Aplt.App. at 52-53. Between February and May 1991, Johns received $542.14 in GA benefits.

In May 1991, the Social Security Administration notified Johns that he had been approved for SSI benefits...