Fewer than 25 full time equivalent employees (FTE)

Small employer tax credit

immediate

A qualifying employer must:

• have less than the equivalent of 25 full-time workers (for example, an employer with fewer than 50 half-time workers may be eligible).
• cover at least 50 percent of the cost of health care coverage for some of its workers based on the single rate.
• pay average annual wages below $50,000.

The number of an employer’s FTEs is determined by dividing (1) the total hours for which the employer pays wages to employees during the year (but not more than 2,080 hours for any employee) by (2) 2,080. The result, if not a whole number, is then rounded to the next lowest whole number. Refer to the IRS website for information on which employees are not counted for purposes of determining FTEs.

The credit is worth up to 35 percent of a small business' premium costs in 2010. On Jan. 1, 2014, this rate increases to 50 percent (35 percent for tax-exempt employers).

Phase-out. The credit phases out gradually for firms with average wages between $25,000 and $50,000 and for firms with the equivalent of between 10 and 25 full-time workers.

50 employees

Reasonable break time and a space for nursing mothers

immediate

Employers with less than 50 full time employees are exempt if it causes undue hardship.

DOL will define terms such as reasonable break time and significant difficulty or expense

50 employees

Employer shared responsibility

1/1/2014

An “applicable large employer” (generally, one that employed an average of at least 50 full-time employees during the preceding calendar year) not offering coverage for all its full-time employees, offering minimum essential coverage that is unaffordable, or offering minimum essential coverage that consists of a plan under which the plan's share of the total allowed cost of benefits is less than 60%, will have to pay a penalty if any full-time employee is certified to the employer as having purchased health insurance through a state exchange with respect to which a tax credit or cost-sharing reduction is allowed or paid to the employee. The penalty for any month will be an excise tax equal to the number of full-time employees over a 30-employee threshold during the applicable month (regardless of how many employees are receiving a premium tax credit or cost-sharing reduction) multiplied by one-twelfth of $2,000 (adjusted for inflation after 2014)

Less than 100

Wellness program grants

5 year program for fiscal 2011 through 2015

Employers eligible to receive grants must employ less than 100 employees who work 25 hour or more per week and did not provide a workplace wellness program before enactment of the Affordable Care Act.

100

Simple cafeteria plan

1/1/2011

Employer employs on average fewer than 100 employees over the preceding two years

200

Automatic enrollment

Not clear

A covered employer that has more than 200 full-time employees and that offers employees enrollment in one or more health benefits plans must automatically enroll new full-time employees in one of the plans offered (subject to any waiting period authorized by law) and continue the enrollment of current employees in a health benefits plan offered through the employer.