(April 4, 2014) U.S. Representative Richard Hanna this week voted in support of the Save American Workers Act to repeal the 30-hour full-time work week prescribed in Obamacare and restore the traditional 40-hour work week known and recognized throughout upstate New York.
Rep. Hanna, a small business owner for 30 years, is Chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce. He has heard from many small businesses and workers that oppose the new definition of full-time employment as 30 hours per week imposed by the health care law.
Under Obamacare’s employer mandate, businesses with more than 50 full-time or “full-time equivalent” employees must offer affordable health insurance to employees or pay a fine of $2,000 for each full-time employee per year, excluding the first 30 workers. Obamacare defined “full-time equivalent” employees as any employees who work at least 30 hours per week over the course of a month.
This detrimental definition discourages businesses from expanding and actually encourages employers to keep workers at 29 hours or less. It also causes workers to lose jobs, wages and the health insurance they may have previously enjoyed.
East Coast Resorts of America, an Owsego County business with 40 employees, told Rep. Hanna that Obamacare “restricts growth because companies will avoid more hiring to stay under 50 full timers,” and that the law persuades employers to “change to less full-time staff and more part time staff.”
“An Oswego County small business, right here in our community, is one of many that have told me they will avoid growing to more than 50 employees because of Obamacare,” Rep. Hanna said. “Why would we want to limit job growth? This bill helps reduce the devastating impact of the employer mandate on employees and small businesses in upstate New York.
“Restoring the traditional work week will encourage businesses to expand and offer employees more hours and the opportunity to earn more take-home pay. At a time when our economy is struggling and many are looking for work, we shouldn’t have laws that shorten the work week and shrink paychecks.”
According to a study by the Hudson Institute, 2.6 million American workers are at risk to have their hours reduced and wages cut due to this revised definition of full time employees. Even more disturbingly, the study found that this impact would disproportionately affect younger workers, women, lower-income workers, and those without a college degree.
“This is another example of Obamacare hurting the people it purports to help,” Rep. Hanna said. “I will continue to support the repeal and replacement of Obamacare with patient-centered reforms that provide more health care coverage through lower costs.”
The bill was approved by a bipartisan vote of 248 – 179.