Bill > S701

This bill, titled the Forty Hours Is Full Time Act of 2013, proposes to change the definition of a full-time employee for the purposes of the individual mandate within the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Specifically, it amends Section 4980H(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by increasing the number of hours considered for certain calculations from 120 to 174 and, more significantly, by changing the threshold for what constitutes a full-time employee from 30 hours per week to 40 hours per week. The individual mandate, in its original form, required individuals to have health insurance or pay a penalty, and employers were subject to penalties if they did not offer coverage to their full-time employees. This bill, by raising the definition of full-time to 40 hours, would effectively mean fewer employees are considered full-time under the law, potentially impacting employer obligations to provide health insurance.