Many staffing agencies have been very concerned with the mandate, as W-2 contractors do count toward the 50-employee limit, which can result in major healthcare costs. The final regulations surrounding the mandate offer some relief for the first year, including:
- Firms with 50 to 99 employees will not be impacted by the mandate until 2016 if they sign an official certification stating they did not cut their workforce below 99 because of the ACA.
- Companies with 100 or more employees will only need to provide 70 percent of employees with healthcare coverage in 2015. This number will rise to 95 percent in 2016, as the original legislation stated.
- Beginning in 2015, companies with 100 or more employees will be fined $2,000 if they choose to not offer healthcare coverage, minus the first 80 employees if just one person receives a federal premium credit to obtain coverage through The Marketplace. Only 30 employees will be omitted from the calculation in 2016, as the original terms stated.
- Firms not sure if they’ll need to provide healthcare coverage in 2015 can average their number of full-time and full-time equivalent workers from the last six months of 2014, rather than calculating totals from the entire year.
- Companies that will need to submit to the ACA rules in 2015, but have healthcare plans that do not start on January 1 are permitted to put compliance on hold until the beginning of their coverage year.
Staffing firms are also able to utilize a look-back period to find out if they need to provide coverage to employees with variable hours. For example:
- If the firm believes an employee will be working at least 30 hours per week, they should be considered full-time and offered benefits.
- To determine whether a person should be categorized as a variable-hour worker, companies should consider whether they have the right to reject future job offers, as well as the frequency and length of their job assignments.
Have questions about how the ACA will impact your business? Contact our team of experts today! We’ll be happy to work with you to ensure your company meets the terms of these new regulations.
