May 4, 2020

As employers begin reopening their worksite doors to their employees, some find ACA employer mandate challenges coming through the door as well. These issues are forcing employers to revisit and reevaluate, in ways they’ve never before encountered on this scale, how that mandate operates and what it requires. 

In our fourth shelter in place episode, Ed and Scott discuss the ACA implications of returning to work. Find out how paid leave, furloughs, layoffs and more impact employees‘ eligibility for medical coverage, particularly where the employer’s medical plan hard wires eligibility to ACA full-time employee status. Oh – and they welcome the return of the lightning round … pew-pew-pew!

• Does the nature of the absence – paid or unpaid, furlough or lay off - impact eligibility status when employees return? 
• How quickly might coverage need to offered upon return, and under what circumstances?
• Why does ACA full-time status determinations make Scott hungry for salted cashews?
• How do paid and unpaid leaves impact the current measurement period? How do they affect ACA full-time status, and eligibility, in 2021?
• Can employers impose a new waiting period for returning furloughed or laid off employees?
• When does re-imposing a waiting period for rehired employees trigger an ACA employer mandate nuclear penalty?

And don’t miss answers to the CARES Act frequently asked questions in the lightning round!