House passes Young’s work hours bill

The US House of Representatives approved a bill sponsored by Rep. Todd Young, R-9th District, to repeal the definition of full-time employment as 30 hours per week in the Affordable Care Act on Thursday.

The House passed House Resolution 2575, called the “Save American Workers Act of 2014,” with a vote of 248-179. The majority of the split was along party lines.

The Affordable Care Act currently defines full-time employment as 30 hours of work per week instead of the traditional 40 hours.

The health care law requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance to their workers or pay fines, so opponents said the 30-hour definition caused employers to cut hours and wages for hourly employees in order to avoid the mandate, according to a press release.

A Congressional Budget Office analysis found that fewer workers would receive employer-sponsored health coverage, and hundreds of thousands more people would be uninsured as a result of the bill, according to the release.

Young originally introduced the legislation in June last year.

“These are all Americans who want to work but are dealing with the unintended consequences of this health care law,” Young said in the release. “By simply repealing this provision and restoring the traditional 40-hour work week, we can help make an America that works.”

Young said he was trying to help employees whose hours may have been cut from 39 per week to 29 by their employers.

“The employees we’re talking about are the ones that most depend on getting every hour and every bit of wages they can,” Young said on the House floor Thursday. “We’re talking about custodians, cafeteria workers and substitute teachers at your child’s school.”

Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced a similar bill in the Senate last June. Donnelly applauded the House for passing Young’s bill.

“Now that the House has passed this bill, I hope we can work together in a bipartisan way to pass this legislation in the Senate, making the health care law work better for families in Indiana and across America,” Donnelly said in the release.

Rebecca Kimberly