The Legal Aid Society has filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their premature and unlawful termination of a waiver that has long shielded New Yorkers who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from additional work requirements.

As a result of USDA’s action, approximately 100,000 New York City SNAP recipients who are classified as “Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents” (ABAWDs) will have one month to seek exemptions, or else find employment or begin participation in approved work programs starting December 1, 2025, or risk losing critical food benefits on which they rely to feed themselves and their families.

“Terminating the ABAWD waiver months before it was set to expire is not only unlawful, but unnecessarily cruel during a time of historic unaffordability in New York City,” said Laboni Rahman, an attorney in the Civil Law Reform Unit at Legal Aid. “The rushed implementation of the ABAWD work requirement will undoubtedly lead to confusion and administrative chaos, resulting in more New Yorkers losing subsistence-level benefits that may be the only thing standing between them and food insecurity.”

“USDA’s unlawful action must not be allowed to stand,” she continued. “No New Yorker should go hungry because of a thoughtless decision made without regard for the people it impacts.”

The Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services (DDS) Molly Park also submitted a declaration in support of the lawsuit, attesting to the immense administrative burdens placed on DSS by USDA’s action.