Obamacare defines 30-hour workweek as full time
President Obama signs the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 23, 2010. On Monday, the federal government released 18 pages defining a "full-time" employee under the new law. Photo Credit:AP/J. Scott Applewhite
One of the most anticipated new federal regulations governing which companies will be required to provide health insurance under Obamacare has finally landed — with a thud.
In the latest indication of how complicated putting the Affordable Care Act into action will be, the Department of Health and Human Services and Internal Revenue Service issued 18 pages of regulations just to describe what a "full-time employee" is. Of note, to the feds a full-time employee works an average of just 30 hours a week, not the normally accepted 40 hours.
The IRS rule is key because companies with more than 50 full-time employees must provide health insurance under Obamacare, or be fined. Business groups have been warning that small companies might try to replace full-time workers with part-time help to avoid being forced to offer health insurance in 2014, but the 30-hour full-time definition is likely to undermine those plans.
Read more:http://times247.com/articles/obamacare-takes-forever-defining-full-time-employee#ixzz29q2hLkNX
