With all the major changes coming because of the Affordable Care Act, employers are wondering how this will effect them and their bottom line. Employees are looking at new ways to get health insurance at reasonable prices. There will be ups and downs, but the ACA will change the U.S. employment climate forever. How will the ACA affect employment? Here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Part time employment. The current mandate is that businesses are required to provide insurance coverage to any employee who works over 30 hours a week. If they do not comply, they may be required to pay a fine. To avoid both the fine and the mandate, some companies may elect to hire individuals on a part-time basis. However, since many companies already offered health insurance, this may be less of a problem than many analysts originally thought.
- Temporary employees. Companies may be looking to add temp staff to their businesses to avoid paying insurance for a large number of employees. This allows them to either bring individuals on for short-term projects or as part-time employees. Keep in mind that as a temporary employee, your employer of record is the staffing company. If you work more than 40 hours a week for them they may offer insurance. If they do not and elect to pay the fine instead, you may qualify for several new insurance programs.
- Worker’s compensation. One of the overlooked areas that the ACA may affect is worker’s compensation. With more access to healthcare, employees may be more likely to seek preventative medical care or treatment if they have sustained and injury or illness. This is expected to create a healthier workforce overall and reduce worker’s comp claims. Furthermore, doctors within workers compensation networks are often required to provide additional justification for the treatment, which may not be necessary under the ACA.
How will the ACA affect your employment? NRI offers a variety of temporary jobs. DC area companies are hiring now!
