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. Here we will go the benefits requirements for seasonal employees and how they can affect your clients.

Key Takeaways:

• Employers must be aware of the legal requirements for providing benefits to temporary workers.
• "Large" employers are based on having 50 or more employees on average, but seasonal workers employed for 120 days or less can be excluded from this count.
• Employers can choose to offer health coverage to part-time employees working less than 30 hours weekly.
• Dental coverage under the ACA can be included in health plans or purchased separately. Seasonal employees must enroll in a health plan to access dental options through the marketplace.
• Monitoring the number and working hours of seasonal employees is crucial for compliance with legal requirements.

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 the 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 also have an impact.

Benefits Requirements for Employees

 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 the purposes of determining whether the company is a large or small employer. 

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.

HealthCoverageGuide.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: 

• On 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 insurance carriers offer separate, stand-alone dental plans. Seasonal employees may want to take this option if the health coverage they choose doesn’t include dental or if they want different dental coverage. If they choose a stand-alone dental plan, they will pay a separate, additional premium.

• After they complete a marketplace application and get the search 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.

Navigating benefits for seasonal workers can be a bit of a puzzle, but don't worry. It's really helpful for your clients to keep an eye on how many workers are joining for specific periods. By knowing the numbers and the hours they work, you'll have a much clearer picture of the legal requirements. We hope this info is a helpful resource for you as you support your clients' benefits needs.

Any questions about your current Solstice products? Login to your portal on https://www.solsticemarketplace.com/ 

Want to start selling Solstice? Visit solsticebenefits.com, call 877-760-2247 or email us at sales@solsticebenefits.com