Trailer manufacturers and truck equipment distributors have had to deal with federal excise tax (FET). Now they must be concerned with FTE (full-time equivalents).
FTEs measure the amount of labor hours that a company's part-time employees work during the course of a year. If that number is sufficient, a company with fewer than 50 employees can be considered a large employer under the terms of Obamacare.
The requirements don't take effect until 2014, but they are based on a company's headcount in 2013.
Here's how to determine if your company is a large employer and therefore subject to penalties that the law provides:
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If you have more than 50 full-time employees, you are a large employer. Full-time employees work more than 30 hours per week on average. Companies whose workforce exceeds 50 employees (or full-time equivalents) for 120 days or fewer during the calendar year are not considered large employers and the employees in excess of 50 are considered seasonal workers — ones working 120 days or fewer.
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If you have less than 50 full-time employees, but you also have part-time employees, you are a large employer if your full-time employees plus the number of FTEs exceeds 50. Two employees, for example, who each work 20 hours per week would be the equivalent of one who works 40 hours per week.