do benefits have to be given if full time employee?

[disneychrista]

I think the idea is that they have to treat everyone the same. They can't say you do x and work 30 hours a week and get benefits and another person does x and works 30 hours a week and does not get benefits.

This is not true either. You can offer different level of benefits for different groups of employees. In fact individual employees can "negotiate" their benefits and that is legal too.

 

[crisi]

This is not true either. You can offer different level of benefits for different groups of employees. In fact individual employees can "negotiate" their benefits and that is legal too.

There can be some tax penalties though if you only give benefits to certainly highly compensated employees and not rank and file employees. Its been a while, but I think you loose the ability to write off the benefits if they are narrowly targeted.

 

[disneychrista]

There can be some tax penalties though if you only give benefits to certainly highly compensated employees.

But that does not make it illegeal.

 

[crisi]

But that does not make it illegeal.

No, but it might drive a company to institute draconian policies to keep anyone from entering a class where they'd need to pay benefits so they can protect their write off and their benefit for "managerial" employees.

She isn't naming names, but WalMart was notorious for this a few years ago.

 

[mafibisha]

No, but it might drive a company to institute draconian policies to keep anyone from entering a class where they'd need to pay benefits so they can protect their write off and their benefit for "managerial" employees.

She isn't naming names, but WalMart was notorious for this a few years ago.

No, its not walmart, and they're professional positions.

Sorry to be secretive, I know its annoying. But while its a huge company, its a very VERY small world...

(and its SIL's, not mine. I was comparing it with my new potential employer)

 

[crisi]

No, its not walmart.
Sorry to be secretive, I know its annoying. But while its a huge company, its a very VERY small world...

(and its SIL's, not mine. I was comparing it with my new potential employer)

Actually, it isn't annoying at all. Many big companies have policies to keep costs low and maximize profits. This isn't unusual.

But they do not need to offer benefits to anyone at all - other than the ones federally mandated (which do not yet include health insurance, but will in 2014). They can offer benefits to some segments of a population but not others - although they may end up paying more in taxes if they choose to do so.

 

[mafibisha]

Actually, it isn't annoying at all. Many big companies have policies to keep costs low and maximize profits. This isn't unusual. .

I meant, that its probably annoying (to some here) that I won't give the name of my Sis in law's company

 

[disneychrista]

Sorry to be secretive, I know its annoying. But while its a huge company, its a very VERY small world...

It is actually very smart to not "name names" as on a Labor Law forum I visit, somone was legally fired for naming names.

 

[Arielle22]

I am a HR and Payroll Mgr. If you are speaking of a 401k plan or a health insurance plan, the company must follow whatever the policy states.

401k plans have strict guidance under federal law. Dept of Labor audits for a 401k are no fun for the company. My company made a minor mistake and the audit was amost 2 years long. It resulted in us paying $400 spread out over 55 enrollees for interest correction.

If your health insurance is pre-tax then it is also covered under federal tax law, section 125.

For paid time off, no company is mandated to provide it. However if an employee is exempt from overtime, there are federal rules which restrict an exempt employee's pay from being docked due to absences. So for exempt employees it is better to offer sick time.

Companies can and do change benefits for different levels of employees. It is common for part time employees to not receive any benefits. It is also common for senior employees to receive better benefits.

Federal labor law is the floor rather than the ceiling. So states can enact laws which give the employee more protection but not less. This means each state is just a little different. CA is known as having the toughest labor laws while Florida is among the weakest. Not all states require worker's comp insurance.

Another poster mentioned being a W-2 contractor. Federal law recognizes 2 types of workers. An employee who receives a W-2 and has taxes withheld and an independent contractor who gets a 1099.

Some posters suggested negotiating for better benefits. That can be a tricky situation. Some companies are open to negotiations and some view negotiation as you not accepting the position. If the company does not offer benefits to anyone it is a much tougher negotiation than say asking for an extra week of vacation.

For Family Medical Leave (FMLA) coverage the company must have 50 employees within 75 miles and you must have worked 1,250 hours in the past twelve months.

 

[sam_gordon]

The 999 hours is only 20 hours per week (20 * 52 = 1040). My guess is the company made a distinction between parttime (ie: less than 20 hours per week) and full time (over 20 hours) employees. Fulltime employees get 'x' benefits. PT employees aren't eligible.

 

[dcfromva]

Awhile ago i heard someone say that in their job with a huge, major company, they couldn't work more than 999 hours a year or their employer *had* to pay them benefits. That it was some sort of legal thing.

As far as I know, there is no requirement for an employer to offer any benefit in particular. But, if you have part time employees that meet certain legal requirements--you have to offer the same benefits to them as you do to the full time employees.

There was a lawsuit brought against Microsoft in which Microsoft lost (Vizcaino v. Microsoft)Link to article, "Microsoft Improperly Denied Benefits to Part Time Workers" All the benefits offered to the full time employees had to be offered to the contract employees that were employed essentially full time.