Are you thinking that if your company has fewer than 50 employees, none of the obligations imposed on employers by the Affordable Care Act apply to you? Think again. Under “Obamacare,” every employer that has at least one employee and $500,000 in annual revenue must, by Tuesday, October 1, 2013, send a notice to all employees via first-class mail informing them about the new health insurance exchanges that will offer alternatives to the employer-sponsored group health plan. The notice must educate employees about the exchange and provide contact information for accessing the exchange. The notice must also advise of an employee’s potential eligibility for subsidized coverage on the exchange under certain circumstances, as well as the consequences of an employee’s choosing to buy coverage on the exchange, rather than participating in the employer’s group plan.
To access the October 1st notice, go to www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/FLSAwithplans.pdf