Factoring Seasonal Employees Into the Large Employer Calculation

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One of the big questions concerning the large employer calculation is how seasonal employees fit into the equation. Upon initial reading of the bill, it appeared that seasonal employees would not be included in the calculation. However, this is not the case.

Remember that the large employer calculation is done on a monthly basis, and then the number is averaged over the year. Thus, any months that seasonal employees work, they must be included in the calculation to determine full-time equivalents (FTE). The hours that any seasonal employee works during the month needs to be added to the normal part-time employee hours worked during the month, and then use that total number of hours to determine full-time equivalents.

However, here is the catch: if your company averages over 50 full-time and FTE employees for 120 days or less per year, and if the reason you are over the 50 FTE threshold is because of the seasonal employees, you will not be considered a large employer.

If you employ a large number of seasonal workers, you will want to carefully manage your seasonal hiring to ensure that you do exceed 120 days of over 50 FTE employees due to seasonal employees.

If you need help in determining your full-time equivalents, please give Travis Sinquefield a call at (616) 735-3088.

Travis Sinquefield
HR Manager
616.735.3088
traviss@hscompanies.com