NFIB Cheers House Passage of Bill Repealing Obamacare Definition of Full-Time Work

Date: January 08, 2015

Washington, DC (January 8, 2015) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today cheered
the passage of legislation in the House that would repeal a provision of
Obamacare that makes it harder for small employers to keep or create full-time
positions by mandating health insurance coverage for many traditionally
part-time workers.   


“There’s bipartisan agreement in the House and
[KK1] [MJ2] in the Senate that the 30-hour work
week provision of the law was an unfortunate mistake,” said NFIB President and CEO Dan Danner.  “Small business owners are very pleased by
the House’s action today and we look forward to a similar result in the Senate.”

 

Under
the law, full-time work is defined as 30 hours per week instead of the
traditional 40 hours per week.  The Obama
administration pushed for the provision as a way to force private sector
employers to offer more workers health insurance coverage.  What they didn’t expect is that some firms
would respond by converting full-time workers to part-time status and avoid hiring
altogether new workers over 30 hours. 

 

According
to Danner, that provision of the law
influences the job market in ways that even Obamacare supporters could not have
intended.

 

“It
puts pressure on small employers that cannot absorb additional costs to keep
more workers under 30 hours,” he said. 
“The result is that part-time workers who want more hours can’t get
them, and full-time workers are being converted to part-time status.”

 

The bill, H.R. 30,
passed the House with bipartisan support today by a vote of 252-172.  It goes next to the Senate where it will need
60 votes to proceed to the President’s desk. 
In the Senate the measure has two Democratic co-sponsors:  Indiana Senator Joe Donnelly and West
Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.  Four more
Democrats would have to cross over to support the measure in order to advance.

 

“We think there’s a growing sentiment
among Democrats, including among Democrats who voted for the law, that it is a
highly imperfect piece of legislation that needs major revisions.  There’s no reason that it shouldn’t pass the
Senate with enough bipartisan support to send a strong message to the President
to sign the bill into law.”
[KK3] 

 

For
more information on NFIB, please visit www.nfib.com.

 

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