What is considered a full-time equivalent employee under the Health Reform law?

A full-time equivalent employee (FTE) is one who is a true employee of your business, generally receiving a W-2 at the end of the year, who works 30 or more hours per week.

Why is it important to know how many FTEs work for my business?

It's important because you need to know if you are considered a "Small" or "Large" Business under the Affordable Care Act. A Small Business is defined as one with less than 50 FTEs (2-49). A Large Business has 50 or more FTEs employed. If you are Self-Employed (business of one), then you are considered a business but not an employer, so you will shop for Individual and Family policies instead. 

The pricing, benefits, and how plans are issued by the insurance company will be different for Small and Large Businesses. 

Do I count part-time or seasonal employees?

You do not have to offer benefits to part-time or seasonal employees, but they can partially count toward your total number of FTEs.

For every 30 hours worked by different part-time employees, it counts as one FTE. For example, if you have two part-timers who work 15 hours per week, together they work 30 hours per week and count as one FTE. 

Seasonal employees only count toward your total number of FTEs if they work 120 or more days in the year.