Temporary Employee

[Guest TommyS]

Is there an exception for temporary employees to providing benefits? We're small (under 20 employees) and have a clerk who wants to work until he goes back to school in the Fall. He'd be working on a specific project mostly at a client's warehouse but also filling in at our office as needed. He'd be working more than 25 hours per week (our plan's definition of threshhold for coverage). Can we classify him as a temporary employee and not provide benefits? If so, is there a state or federal reference you can provide me as support?

Thanks in advance.

[leevena]

You probably cannot cover this individual because he is classified as "temporary", not full-time. Check your health plan definition of an eligible employee, is usually excludes "temporary" employees.

As for state regulation, you don't mention your state. Also, since you are under 20 lives, and I suspect you have a fully insured health plan approved by your state, whatever the documents say about this situation will follow state regs.