‘New Incentive’

The conventional 40-hour-a-week definition of full-time work dates to the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulates overtime pay. It’s not a universal standard. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines full-time work as 35 hours a week.

While the number of Americans forced to accept part-time work has been falling as the economy improves, it remains far above historical standards. In October, private-sector workers put in an average 34.6 hours a week, the BLS reported today.

“There’s been a rash of part-timing in the economy for a generation now; it well preceded the ACA,” said Peter Colavito, director of government relations for the Service Employees International Union. “What we don’t want to do is create a new incentive for folks to go under 40 hours a week.”

Some employers, including many small businesses, say that’s exactly what the current law does.

Wal-Mart, Target

Last month, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would stop offering health coverage to employees who work less than 30 hours a week, following similar moves by Target Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Walgreen Co. The move, which affects about 2 percent of the retailer’s 1.3 million employees, could save the company about $50 million in premiums this year.

The Republicans’ proposal could be the starting point for a compromise to address employer concerns, said Ed Pagano, the Obama White House’s former chief Senate lobbyist, now a partner at the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Still, it remains to be seen whether Republicans would negotiate or use the proposal simply as a political tool to criticize the law, Pagano said.

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