During the first employment-related hearing conducted by the new Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Senators and panelists debated whether the Affordable Care Act’s definition of “full-time” employment should be amended. Under the healthcare lawβs employer responsibility requirements, employers with at least 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees are now required to provide health insurance meeting certain ACA standards to their full-time employees or pay a penalty. For employers with 50 to 100 full-time employees, this pay-or-play employer mandate becomes effective in 2016. The ACA considers a worker “full time” if he or she works 30 hours or more per week, instead of the customary 40 per week.
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