If you have clients who own businesses with "seasonality" that requires a temporary workforce, as their valued broker, you must pay attention to the laws requiring benefits for seasonal employees.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has some sage advice: Be aware that seasonal workers, while necessary to manage a company during certain times of year, such as the Christmas buying season, or summer holidays, can cause significant issues due to new requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

If the population of the company grows during the season when additional staff is brought on, that can have an impact as well.  An employer is defined as “large” in a given calendar year if it employed an average of 50 or more employees in the previous year.

If they employ seasonal workers that work 120 or fewer days during the year, however, they are not considered large for purposes of determining whether the company is a large or small employer. 

For planning purposes:  If the company has a large seasonal workforce and employs more than 50 employees during a year on average specifically because of seasonal workers, they must work less than 120 days during the year. They can be excluded, and the company can continue to be counted as a “small” employer.

Health Coverage Guide.org says that all employers have the option to offer coverage to part-time employees who work fewer than 30 hours per week. 

Regarding Dental Coverage

Under many insurance plans, dental was always separate and optional. Under the ACA, there are some different rules, such as: 

• In the federal marketplace, dental coverage is included in some of the individual health plans offered, so seasonal employees can choose those if they wish. If a health plan includes dental coverage, they will pay one monthly premium for both health and dental. The premium shown for the plan includes both health and dental coverage.
• Some plans offer a separate, stand-alone plan. Some seasonal employees may want this if the health coverage they choose doesn’t include dental coverage, or if they want different dental coverage. If they choose a separate dental plan, they pay a separate, additional premium.

• After they complete a marketplace application and get the results, they can view health plans that include dental coverage.  

Please note that seasonal employees can't buy a dental plan from the marketplace unless they are enrolling in a marketplace health plan at the same time.

Understanding benefits for seasonal workers can be tricky. It's important for your groups to pay attention to the number of workers brought on board for a few months. Knowing the numbers and hours they work will greatly help in understanding what the requirements are under the law.