Why a 40-Hour Worker Means More to Small Businesses

Some small-business owners hope that a new Congress will change the federal health law’s requirement that businesses provide health insurance to workers who clock as little as 30 hours a week, or pay a penalty, reported The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Republicans taking over control of the Senate would like to extend the law’s definition of a full-time workweek to 40 hours or more, according to WSJ.

Starting next year, companies with at least 100 full-time workers are required to offer health coverage—or face fines, ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 per employee. Those with at least 50 full-time workers must provide coverage to their full-timers by 2016, or risk facing the penalties.

Most Americans work 40 or more hours weekly. Of the roughly 144 million people with jobs in the U.S. in October, about 46.6 million, or 32%, worked between one and 39 hours a week, while 97.2 million worked 40 hours or more, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That agency defines part-time as less than 35 hours weekly.

The GOP-controlled House of Representatives voted in April to back raising what qualifies as a full-time workweek under the health law to 40 hours a week, from 30, though President Obama threatened to veto the change. After midterm elections, House Speaker John Boehner said the 40-hour definition remains one of his top agenda items. The proposal to extend the full-time workweek definition to 40 hours for the purposes of the health law would likely require support from at least 60 votes in the Senate. Republicans have locked in 53 seats for the new year. S