FreshStaff
Staffing Glossary

ACA Full-Time Employee

Under the ACA, anyone averaging 30+ hours a week (or 130+ hours a month) — a different, often lower, bar than a state's own full-time definition.

Also called: ACA full-time status, ACA hiring status, ACA classification of employees, temporary employees and ACA

This classification, not a worker's job title or benefits eligibility elsewhere, is what determines whether an Applicable Large Employer owes that worker a healthcare coverage offer under the ACA. For staffing agencies, it means a worker picked up as "temporary" or "part-time" for scheduling purposes can still count as ACA full-time if their average hours clear the threshold.

Agencies typically track this with a look-back measurement period across variable-hour temp workers, since eligibility is based on an average over time rather than any single week.

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