Health Care Reform and Part-time Employment

[yowzayowzayowza]

In our current system employers can avoid providing benefits by relegating their workforce to part-timers, less than 40hrs/week. Do any of the proposals alter this situation? The health exchange will provide access to health care for part-time employees, but is there any requirement for some sort of fractional benefits to be paid by employers for their part-time employees to level the playing field between part & full timers?

[snot]

1. K&R'd; and

don't know the answer; but yes we should.

This has been an impt., and for many of us, PAINFUL loophole for too long – and the fix shd be easy, if our reps. weren't in cahoots: simply require employers to provide the same benefits, on an hourly basis, that they provide all employees, prorata. They don't have to pay any more than they would for a full-time worker, but they don't get to pay less just bec. they subdivide the job among part-timers, which enhances no one's efficiency.

This would eliminate employers' incentive under current law to transform decent, full-time jobs into not-so-decent part-time jobs.

We need similar provisions in treaties with countries from which we admit imports.

[yowzayowzayowza]

2. Yep, I wonder if perpetuating this loophole is the reason...

for Walmart gettin' onboard with reform. :shrug:

[yowzayowzayowza]

3. Self kick for input. Seems like alotta money could be raised by...

requiring employers to kick in for part-timers like they do for full-timers.