Legal definition of part time employees and required benefits

[Guest laurenlee]

I am interested in understanding the definition of part time employees and the full time benefits that must be extended to them under law.

[Guest nac]

There are no federal laws pertaining to part-time employees, and I'm not aware of any state regs. Full time under FLSA is 40 hours per week; some employers may designate fewer than that (37.5 or 35, usually) as full time.

Employers are not mandated by federal law to provide any benefits other than statutory (WC, FICA, SUI, etc.) to part-timers.

Welfare plan benefits eligibility is described in the plan document and SPD. It's not uncommon for plans to specifically exclude part time employees (i.e. employees who work less than the number of hours defined for full time) from participation. You'd have to check the docs for specifics.