Employer Mandate Overview

As part of the employer mandate, employers of a certain size are required to track employee hours and offer coverage to employees and their dependents up to age 26 as they become eligible. In addition, these employers must file IRS forms on an annual basis to demonstrate that they are in compliance with the ACA.

Tracking Hours

The employer mandate requires employers to retain information on the hours worked by all employees, regardless of whether they are full-time or part-time, salaried or hourly. Companies will need to track hours for all employees and submit filings to the IRS for all employees the ACA treats as full-time.

For companies already offering insurance coverage for full-time employees, the only change is that under the ACA, companies will now be obligated to offer coverage to any employee who is expected to work or actually works a certain number of hours over a period, which might be different than a company's current full-time employee definition.

Is proof of coverage communicated to employees by carriers or employers and if so, how?

• For companies under 250 employees, no proof will be specifically transmitted, but if an employee gets audited, they can use the documentation described on this page under "Proof of Insurance."
• If a company has over 50 full time employees, the employees will get a 1095-C Form.
• If a company has over 250 W-2 employees, they will give employees W-2 information.