House Passes Bill Easing Employer Mandate

January 14th, 2015 by Thomas Harte

The House of Representatives voted this week to repeal the definition of a full time employee of 30 hours and amend to a more traditional definition of 40 hours. The bill (H.R. 30, “Save American Workers Act”) passed 252 to 172 and will be introduced to the new Senate (S. 30), which is supportive of the measure.

Unfortunately, despite that the bi-partisan sponsorship of this bill, the House vote did not achieve a 2/3 of the voting House; which is required to override a Presidential veto. As a result, under the assumption that the Senate will pass the bill, the final decision on the modification of the 30 hour requirement may rest solely with President Obama.

In public comment, President Obama has shared that he would veto the bill; however, the Senate may consider amending the legislation to a lower threshold (e.g. 36 hours) in efforts to minimize or eliminate the potential of a Presidential veto.

As always, in the event you have any questions, as the regional expert in health care reform, please contact Landmark Benefits with any comments or questions.