Hello-I have an ee who came onboard as a pt ee with a maximum of 30 hours a week. He works any where from 68-95 hours a pay period (two weeks). The president of the company doesn't want to offer benefits due to the cost but the ee wants/needs the health and dental benefits. However, he is currently enrolled in vision and 401K. What are the laws? Is the ee entitled to benefits since he is working more than 30 hours a week? Also, is it fair that he is entitle to vision and 401k but no other benefits? Is this law written somewhere that i can print and submit to the president of the company? Thank you.

So, if he "came on" for a maximum of 30 hours per week, why is he working up to 95 hours biweekly? If this is a long-term change, I can see where he would have an argument that he should be considered "full-time". However, each of your benefit plans should contain the eligibility requirements.

There is no law that requires the employer to offer benefits to any employee, full-time or part-time. He's "entitled" to whatever benefit the plan rules for each benefit defines. Nothing more, nothing less.

The law in most states, including Maryland, does not address when an employee is eligible for health and dental benefits. That is entirely up to you as an employer, and your plan document. If your plan document says that employee who work more than 30 hours a week get benefits, and this employee consistantly does, then you should offer them. But the LAW does not require that you provide benefits at all, let alone require that you offer them to part time employees. If your plan documents shows a different requirement for benefits eligibility and he does not meet those requirements, then you don't offer them to him. It's as simple as that. Working more than 30 hours a week does not guarantee him health or dental benefits under any law.

401k's, because of their pre-tax status, operate under a different set of laws. An employee who consistantly works 30 hours a week would definitely qualify for 401k participation regardless of whether he qualifies for other benefits under your plans. Nothing whatsoever in the law of any state has an "all or nothing" requirement. It's entirely possible to be eligible for some benefits and not others. It's not a matter of what's "fair"; it's a matter of what benefits does he qualify for under the benefit contracts or company policy.

Not knowing what the eligibility requirements are for your vision plan I can't address that issue. But nothing in the law says that if he qualifies for vision benefits he must also be eligible for health and dental.

Oh, yeah, the 1,000 hours rule. I forgot about that. Sorry. :o

Is the ee entitled to benefits since he is working more than 30 hours a week? Also, is it fair that he is entitle to vision and 401k but no other benefits? Is this law written somewhere that i can print and submit to the president of the company? Thank you.

Laws don't address this. Your benefit plans do. You can write them to exclude this person and others like him or include them. Your choice (or, rather, the choice of your company).

I have heartburn with companies that hire "part-timers" and then work them 60 hours a week for weeks on end and still call them "part-timers."