Final Regulations Issued Regarding Employer Shared Responsibility Under The ACA

Recently issued final regulations on the employer pay-or-play rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) clarify the requirement that employers provide health coverage to full-time employees and their dependents, or pay a penalty and provide additional transition relief for 2015.

The U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) issued final regulations on February 10, 2014, regarding the "pay-or-play" or "employer shared responsibility" requirements under Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code) (hereafter, the Pay-or-Play Rules). Treasury also released a fact sheet, and questions and answers clarifying key provisions of the Pay-or-Play Rules. The employer Pay-or-Play rules originally were intended to take effect on January 1, 2014, but employers received relief this past year when Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice 2013-45 delayed enforcement until January 1, 2015. The final regulations further delay and modify enforcement for certain employers in 2015 as