Don’t Reduce Employee Hours Unnecessarily

The Affordable Care Act will likely continue to be a source of confusion and frustration for employers and individuals throughout implementation. While the employer penalties for the “pay or play” rules have been delayed until January 2015, many employers have already begun adjusting employee hours for the coming year to avoid the mandate. Make sure your business would fall within the large employer threshold before unnecessarily adjusting hours and impacting your employees.

The provision that employers must provide minimum levels of coverage to employees or pay a penalty only applies to those with 50 or more full-time equivalents. Employers that fall below the threshold are not required to provide health insurance. All employers are required to inform employees about the Health Insurance Marketplaces starting this fall.

The employee size calculator and other information and resources related to the Affordable Care Act are available on the Chamber’s website. Members with questions about Marketplaces or providing benefits to members can contact ChamberChoice at 1-800-377-3539.