Colleges Are Slashing Adjuncts' Hours to Skirt New Rules on Health-Insurance Eligibility

[Starry Messenger]

http://chronicle.com/article/Colleges-Curb-Adjuncts-Hours/138653/

<snip>

Stark State, in North Canton, Ohio, is among a growing number of colleges that have limited the number of weekly hours part-time employees can work to keep them below the level at which employers are required to provide health insurance. Under the new law, which takes effect in January 2014, employees of large companies who work 30 hours or more a week must receive health benefits from their employers. Employers who violate the rule could be fined. Colleges in Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are among those that have acted in advance.

But adjuncts are rarely paid by the hour. Their salary is based on the number of courses they teach, making it difficult for colleges to determine how many work hours are put into each course.

<snip>

"We're not allowed to go over 29 hours, and that includes time spent prepping, grading, e-mailing, meeting with students, attending required meetings," she says. "What is happening—and I'm finding this even with just two classes—because of the grading load, I've been put in a position twice this semester where I've just had to lie about the number of hours I actually worked. I don't want to have to make a choice between having a job or not."

<snip>

But Ms. Armentrout says some faculty fear that if their average work weeks are ever over the limit, the university might not renew their contracts.

"There's potential for a lot of issues there," she says. "There will be a lot more professors working at McDonald's."

[MrSlayer]

1. This is happening all over the place.

For a law that's supposed to help people get insured, it sure seems like its going to cost people jobs and money. Not only are they still not insured but they have to work less hours and make less money.

Medicare for all was the way and it was never even considered.

[cyglet]

2. The Law of Unintended Consequences

as usual.

[Brickbat]

3. No one could have possibly thought.

K&R.

[Fumesucker]

4. Beat me to it n/t

[Viking12]

5. Such cuts could be illegal...

Reducing My Hours? See You in Court!

Employers that seek to reduce their exposure under the Affordable Care Act's "play or pay" mandate in 2014 by reducing their employees' hours could risk incurring penalties under a section of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

By Andrew R. McIlvaine
Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Employers could be looking at a lot of potential legal trouble in 2014 as the "pay or play" provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act take effect. Specifically, some employers that intentionally reduce their employees' hours to avoid having to either offer affordable healthcare coverage or pay a per-employee fine for not doing so could find themselves on the wrong end of a lawsuit or a government sanction.

The ACA mandates that, starting in 2014, all organizations with 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees must either offer healthcare coverage that's deemed "affordable" or else pay penalties of up to $3,000 per employee (minus the first 30 employees in their workforce). The healthcare law defines as "full-time" any employee who works an average of 30 or more hours per week.

A number of employers, particularly those in the retail and fast-food industries, where wages tend to be low and healthcare benefits expensive (if they're offered at all), have indicated they may reduce the hours of their employees to below 30 hours per week in order to avoid the requirement.

-snip-

However, employers seeking to limit their costs under the law will need to tread carefully, say employment-law experts. In particular, they must avoid running afoul of section 510 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which prohibits organizations from making employment decisions specifically to prevent an employee from obtaining or keeping benefits coverage.

more:
http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=534355116

[Starry Messenger]

7. I hope so.

Adjuncts have already had their jobs cut though, so the legal battle on what adjuncts make will be kind of one-sided.

[newmember]

8. $3000 per employee or $15,000 to $17,000 a year to offer health care

Which one do you think they are going to choose?

My employer employees over 7000 people.
They have cut over 50% to 29.5 hours a week
since the new health care act.

[CK_John]

6. This is a smokescreen, when more than 50% of grads cannot find a job, it is time to shut down 50%

of the education providers.

Nothing personal, just business as they say in the real world.