House Passes 40-Hour Workweek Bill, but Enactment Far From Certain

On Thursday, the House of Representatives readily approved by a vote of 252-172 the Save American Workers Act of 2015 (H.R. 30), a bill that would increase from 30 to 40 the number of hours an employee must work per week to be considered "full-time" under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). How many employees are considered full-time under the ACA is important for determining whether the employer meets the 50-employee threshold triggering the law's pay-or-play shared responsibility mandate. Critics of the ACA's 30-hour-per-week definition have claimed it will encourage employers to reduce employee hours and/or hiring in order to remain below the pay-or-play mandate floor. While changing the definition has received some bipartisan support, the bill still must clear a Senate hurdle and the President's veto pen. Continue reading this entry at Littler's Workplace Policy Update.

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