On February 10, 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a Fact Sheet and Final Regulations Implementing Employer Shared Responsibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for 2015. Highlights of the Final Regulations include:

• Employers with fewer than 100 employees get a 1-year delay: They will not have to comply until 2016. This applies to employers with 50 to 99 full-time or full-time equivalent employees.

• Employers with 100 or more employees: will have to comply in 2015, but will only be required to offer coverage to at least 70% of full-time employees, rather than 95%, in order to avoid potential penalties. In 2016, the percentage will increase to 95%.

• The final regulations provide clarifications regarding whether employees of certain types or in certain occupations are considered full-time, including seasonal employees and volunteers.

• The final regulations extend to 2015 the “transition rules” that applied to 2014, including the transition rule for non-calendar year plans. Large employers with at least 100 full-time employees with plan years that do not start on January 1 will be able to begin compliance with employer responsibility at the start of their plan years in 2015 rather than on January 1, 2015.

You will find the official fact sheet here: http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Documents/Fact%20Sheet%20021014.pdf