The information ideally also would be disclosed in any forms designating employees as variable hour or seasonal… #Ann Carr Mackey and Timothy G. Verrall, © Ogletree Deakins, Ann Carr Mackey and Timothy G. Verrall, © Ogletree Deakins. }. Of 1,253 restaurant owners and operators surveyed, 18% said they guarantee a 401(k) plan and 11% provide disability coverage. Neither members nor non-members may reproduce such samples in any other way (e.g., to republish in a book or use for a commercial purpose) without SHRM’s permission. Thus, employers can exclude certain seasonal workers from this calculation if they manage the work schedules of such workers carefully. Fast, easy, accurate payroll and tax, so you save time and money. Please enable scripts and reload this page. Ogletree Deakins. Yes. I need product login or other general support. Timothy G. Verrall is a shareholder in the firm’s Houston office. Under the ACA, employers with 50 or more full-time employees (or the equivalent in part-time employees) must provide health insurance to 95% of their full-time employees or pay a penalty to the IRS. Tags: This means that employers must offer the best compensation and benefits in order to attract and retain the best employees. No law directly requires employers to provide health care coverage to their employees. To better support them, the Government of Canada has implemented a new pilot project to provide up to 5 additional weeks of Employment Insurance (EI) regular benefits to eligible seasonal workers … Large Business Small Business else if(currentUrl.indexOf("/about-shrm/pages/shrm-mena.aspx") > -1) { Before determining part-time employee benefits, you need to know what a part-time employee is. Attend webinars or find out where and when we can connect at in-person events. Your organization is an ALE if you have 50 or … Big Data: The Most Powerful Way to Understand Your Workers, Big Data Helps HR Unlock Robust Employee Retention Strategies. on this blog. The ACA and seasonal employees can be a difficult road to navigate to remain compliant. Since seasonal employees only work up to six months during the year, they will generally not average 30 hours per week over 12 months because they will have very few or even zero hours for many of those months. Data Security ADP, the ADP logo and SPARK Powered by ADP are registered trademarks of ADP, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Question: Is an employer required to offer health insurance to H-2B visa employees? By Louise Norris. If you have a large seasonal workforce, and you will employ 100 or more employees during 2014 on average solely because of your seasonal workers, be sure that your seasonal workers work less than 120 days during 2014 so that you can exclude them from the count and potentially be considered a “small” employer for 2015. Get inspired to begin transforming HR at your company. Discover how easy and intuitive it is to use our solutions. The ACA and seasonal employees can be a difficult road to navigate to remain compliant. Focus on what matters most by outsourcing payroll and HR tasks, or join our PEO. Employers will not be subject to a penalty for imposing a 90-day waiting period. Learn how we can make a difference by joining forces to improve the success of the clients we share. var currentUrl = window.location.href.toLowerCase(); The ACA requires applicable large employers (ALEs) to offer health insurance to their full-time (30-plus hours per week) employees. The vast majority of companies that offer group health benefits do so not because they have to. Here are three of the most significant issues to consider, including tips on handling these issues, incorporating the most recent developments regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2014: Issue #1: Do the companys seasonal employees in 2014 push it into large employer status for 2015 so that because of the seasonal workforc… Seasonal workers that work 120 or fewer days during all of 2014 are not counted for purposes of determining whether the company is a large or small employer in 2015. If an employer offers health insurance to one full time employee, then they have to offer it to all generally speaking. Tap into a wealth of knowledge designed to simplify complex tasks and encourage strategic decisions across key functions. From best practices to advice and HR consulting. On Feb. 10, 2014, the Treasury Department postponed by one additional year the original requirement that employers with between 50 to 99 workers meet the mandate to offer health insurance. Workers under the H-2A visa program are a small minority of the nation’s more than 2.4 million farmworkers, many of whom are in the country illegally and don’t have access to health insurance. The size of an employer’s workforce in 2015 will determine whether it is subject to the mandate in 2016. I need Paycheck Protection Program information and support. Employers do not have to offer health insurance at all, although most large employers do as a way to attract and retain employees. You say that “When it comes to health care, you have to follow the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) definition where part-time employees are those who work less than 30 hours per week.” and “Just note that if you do choose to offer health insurance to them, you have … Issue #2: Must “large” employers offer health care coverage to seasonal employees who work full time for a few weeks or months during the busy season? There's a lot to understand about the ACA and seasonal employees. Primary among these is whether employers are required to provide them with health care coverage. But there's an exception for a seasonal workforce. Republished with permission. Articles If your workforce includes 50 or more FTE workers for not more than 120 days per year (or four full calendar months, regardless of whether they're consecutive), and the workers in excess of 50 during that time period are seasonal workers, your organization is not considered an ALE, and is not subject to the ACA's employer mandate. Employees who work an average of at least 30 hours per week, or 130 hours per month… If, for some reason, you have a brief gap between major medical plans, need coverage outside of an open or special enrollment period, or decide that major medical insurance isn’t right for you, then you may want to consider non-ACA health insurance. Please log in as a SHRM member. For instance, large employers can adopt a policy that measures the “full-time” status of seasonal employees over 12 months, instead of over one month. Ann Mackey is a shareholder in the Indianapolis office of Ogletree Deakins, and Applicants now have the option to test from home. Apply for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exam today! This can be tricky. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions. There are a number of issues that employers of seasonal workers might be facing. What Is the Best Way to Determine Whether to Offer Coverage to Your Seasonal Employees? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, large employers usually provide health insurance. ADP hires in over 26 countries around the world for a variety of amazing careers. Don’t just take our word for it. If you rehire the same seasonal employees annually, you can start a new initial measurement period for them each year, as long as there's a gap of at least 13 weeks (26 weeks if you're an educational organization) between the dates that they worked for you. So let’s say you are an ALE and you hire seasonal workers from June 1 … The health insurance coverage must be offered to all full-time employees. So a golf course that hires the same 30 seasonal employees every year from May through September would be able to start a new 12-month measurement period for those seasonal employees each May. Health plan eligibility wording should clearly state premium payment rules in both health plan documentation as well as the corporate benefit guide and enrollment materials. HR To avoid paying for health insurance, some larger employers try to maintain their part-time workforce under 27 hours per week also known as a “safe harbor.” It reduces their risk of having to pay for health insurance benefits and or overtime payment. Here seasonal employees are distinguished from seasonal workers. We have been recognized by esteemed organizations for the value we bring to our clients, our associates and the global community. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. $(document).ready(function () { Hi. However, incorrectly classifying new full-time employees as seasonal employees in order to use an initial measurement period can result in penalties. However, the Affordable Care Act imposes penalties on larger employers that fail to provide health insurance. So do most mid-sized companies and government employers. This is answered above (and I also provide some extra details below). Full-time paid interns at government entities are excluded; Full-time unpaid interns are also excluded; If your full-time paid interns can be classified as seasonal workers, then you can exclude them. $("span.current-site").html("SHRM China "); If you have fewer than 50 full time equivalents as an employer, you do not need to offer group health insurance. Issue #3: Will the employer mandate rules be different after 2015? So the normal requirement — to offer health insurance by the first day of the fourth month of employment — does not apply to seasonal employees, even if they're working 30+ hours per week during the season that they're employed. An employer may determine its status by reference to any six consecutive calendar months during 2014. Recruitment to retirement, getting the very best out of your people do seasonal workers have to be offered health insurance?... 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