Do employers have to offer health insurance to part-time workers in California?

In California, employers are not required by law to offer health insurance to part-time workers. However, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers with 50 or more full-time employees (or the equivalent in part-time employees) must offer affordable health insurance coverage to their full-time employees or face penalties.

The ACA defines full-time employees as those who work an average of 30 or more hours per week, so part-time employees who work less than 30 hours per week are generally not eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance coverage under this law. However, part-time employees may still be able to purchase individual health insurance plans through the state's health insurance exchange, Covered California, or through a private insurance company.

It's worth noting that some employers in California may choose to offer health insurance to their part-time employees as a benefit, but this is not required by law. If you are a part-time employee in California and are not offered health insurance coverage by your employer, you may want to explore other options for obtaining coverage, such as through a spouse's employer-sponsored plan, through a parent's plan if you are under age 26, or through the individual health insurance market.

For additional help with these types of questions, please contact small group health insurance broker, Dale Johnsen, at 805-870-5080 or [email protected]