Q: If we hire an hourly administrative assistant to work full-time during the school year that would have unpaid summers and vacations off, are we legally required to offer health benefits? Likewise, are we “safe” with not paying health benefits for teachers' aides who work 32.5 hours a week during the school year?
A: You might assume the answer would be “No” because the summer break puts their calculated average hours under 30 hours per week. However, there is special “guidance” for educational institutes.
The guidance does not allow schools to calculate employment break periods (read summer break) in a way that would significantly detract from an employee’s overall work average.
There are two ways to calculate the average hours.
- Average the hours without including the employment break period.
- Credit the average hours from the active period to the employment break period.
Meaning, summer breaks are either discounted when counting average hours, or you consider an employee working full time during the summer.
Another employee you may have to count is a substitute teacher, depending on the number of hours worked a week. You cannot discount the summer in counting that person’s hours.
For more insight on calculating employee hours, read our previous article, Updates Concerning The Employer Shared Responsibility Penalties.
