A "hardship exemption" means being excused or exempted from a difficulty or difficulty due to challenging circumstances or hardships encountered. Full definition
There are several other hardship exemptions, including previously large unpaid medical bills, caring and paying medical expenses of a family member, and recent bankruptcy filing. (majormedicalhealth.com)
The EPA allows small oil refineries to apply for hardship exemptions from the RFS ethanol blending requirements, with «small» meaning capacity 10,000 tons of biomass per day, producing at least 20,000 barrels of fuel per day. (energytrendsinsider.com)