Large employers (ALE’s) can avoid ACA penalties by simply knowing how many full-time employees they have that work over 30 hours a week and comply with Reporting Requirements which apply only to applicable large employers (ALEs)

How to Determine ALE Status?
The qualifier for a calendar year depends on the size of its workforce during the preceding calendar year. Ie. 2015 count applies to 2016 year. Employers with at least 50 full-time employees in the preceding calendar year—including full-time equivalent employees (FTEs)—are generally deemed ALEs for the current calendar year.

What are the general provisions in identifying a Full-Time Employee?

A full-time employee is, for a calendar month, an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service per week (130 hours of service in a calendar month is treated as the monthly equivalent of at least 30 hours of service per week). However; a full-time equivalent employee is a combination of employees, each of whom individually is not a full-time employee, but who, in combination, are equivalent to a full-time employee.

For additional rules on determining who is a full-time employee, including what counts as an hour of service, click here. https://www.irs.gov/affordable-care-act/employers/identifying-full-time-employees. Should you need help, have our Compliance Dept. help you. Please call us at 443-608-5520 ext. 101