Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/255295
regulations | continued HEAVY-DUTY HAND CLEANER with moisturizers HEAVY-DUTY HAND CLEANER with moisturizers NET WT 5.75 OZ. (163g) Make those hard-earned callouses shine. Tough on oil, grease and grime. Easy on the hands. Visit LavaSoap.com ©2013 WD-40 Company 1 Healthcare On March 23, 2010 President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Small businesses are not required to offer health care coverage to em- ployees under the law. That means construction businesses with less than 50 full-time employees, those who work an average of 30 hours per week, won't have to worry about beginning to offer coverage or penalties. And, the small compa- nies that do want to offer coverage qualify for tax credits under the law. Those companies with less than 25 full-time employees who pay an average annual wage of $50,000 per employee and cover at least 50 percent of the premium health care costs for an employee, are eligible for up to 50 percent of those premium payments. Because the law's individual mandate requires all U.S. citizens to purchase health insurance, large construction companies offering employer-sponsored coverage that is "affordable" under the law could see an increase in participation levels. For a company with even a dozen or so employees who begin an employer-sponsored plan, it may mean a huge and sudden ad- ditional cost. That means that companies that have been paying all or most of the premium costs for their employees' health insurance will be better off. If the coverage was affordable in the fi rst place, there likely won't be too much of a spike in employee participation at these companies. Plus, these large companies – those with more than 50 full-time employ- ees – won't face penalties under the ACA for offering coverage that is too expensive for its employees. Beginning January 1, 2015, large companies with employees who are granted government subsidies to af- ford employer-sponsored coverage will face penalties. What is considered "affordable" coverage under the law? Employers must pay for at least 60 percent of covered health care expenses. Plus its employees should be able to afford the coverage without pay- ing more than 9.5 percent of their family income before deductions