(a) General. Each State agency shall establish a system to verify applicant employment data for the determination of SNAP eligibility and correct benefit amount.

(b) Data source. States shall use the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) National Directory of New Hires (NDNH) and enter into a computer matching agreement with HHS pursuant to the authority in 42 U.S.C. 653(j)(10).

(c) Use of match data. In accordance with the procedural requirements and privacy protections required for computer data matching at 5 U.S.C. 552a(p), States shall provide a system for:

(1) Comparing identifiable information about each adult household member against data from the NDNH. States must, at minimum, match household members against new hire data available in the database. States shall make the comparison of matched data at the time of application and recertification.

(2) The reporting of instances where there is a match;

(3) The independent verification of match hits to determine their accuracy;

(4) Notice to the household of match results;

(5) An opportunity for the household to respond to the match prior to an adverseaction to deny, reduce, or terminate benefits; and

(6) The establishment and collection of claims as appropriate.

[81 FR 4163, Jan. 26, 2016]