Happy New Year, Business Owner! Just think, exactly one year until full implementation of ObamaCare will wreak havoc on our economy. One oddity will be the definition of FTE, full time equivalent, employees. In the new normal of ObamaCare, a worker working 30 hours per week will be considered FTE. Expect many more employers to use part-time employees to get by.
Of course, the slow pain of full implementation of ObamaCare will start much earlier –throughout all of 2013—as employers of more than 50 FTE employees determine how they will deal with the budget hit the legislation will impose. Actuarial and tax experts are estimating the financial hit to employers to be equivalent to a $2/hr. raise for every employee.
Small employers with less than 50 FTE will not escape the pain—they will likely “pay” for ObamaCare in other ways. Already, 12% of employers with less than 50 FTE have “have either had their health insurance plans terminated or been told that their plan would not be available in the future” according to a comprehensive study by the National Federation for Independent Business (NFIB). More on the NFIB study here: http://www.nfib.com/research-foundation/surveys/healthcare-year1
Like many small business owners, I will be wistful for Auld Lang Syne ( for old, old times) this New Years.
