A new ASA issue paper takes a comprehensive look at the final employer shared responsibility ("play or pay") regulations under the Affordable Care Act that were published in February and will take effect Jan. 1, 2015. The regulations include several provisions that change how the rules will apply in 2015, including a change in the definition of "large employer," the percentage of full-time employees that must be offered "minimum essential coverage" and the penalty carveout for employers that fail the minimum offer test.
The final rules confirm that staffing firms can apply a "look-back" measurement period of up to 12 consecutive months to determine the full-time status of new "variable-hour" employees and includes new temporary staffing-specific factors for making those determinations. The look-back method, which ASA and its business colleagues persuaded the administration was essential to managing ACA compliance for employees whose work patterns are unpredictable and uncertain, is expected to substantially reduce ACA costs related to those employees.
ASA also has updated its model general staffing agreement to include new provisions related to ACA compliance. The provisions address the staffing firm's status as a common law employer, including optional indemnification language to protect clients from liability for ACA obligations that belong to the staffing firm as the employer. In the unusual case where the client is determined to be the employer, optional language provides that ACA-compliant health insurance coverage offered by the staffing firm will be considered to have been offered by the client, provided certain conditions are satisfied.