By 10/1/2013 employers must provide their employees with a notice of health insurance coverage options. The notice requirement applies to employers who are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This includes businesses with annual revenues of $500,000 or more, as well as entities in the healthcare, governmental and education industries regardless of their size.

The notice must:

• Be provided to current employees before 10/1/2013 (employers could begin issuing the notices 3/1/2013);
• Be provided to each new employee at the time of hiring (within 14 days of an employee's start date) beginning 10/1/2013;
• Be provided regardless of the employee's enrollment status in any health plan the employer may/may not offer;
• Inform employees of coverage options;
• Provide information regarding the existence of a new health insurance Marketplace;
• Provide Marketplace contact information and services provided by the Marketplace;
• Inform the employee that they may be eligible for a premium tax credit if the employee purchases a qualified health plan through a Marketplace;
• Provide a statement informing the employee that if the employee purchases a qualified health plan through the Marketplace, the employee may lose the employer contribution (if any) to any health benefit plan offered by the employer and that all or a portion of such contribution may be excludable from income for Federal income tax purposes;
• Be provided in writing by first class mail or, alternatively, electronic means if the requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor's electronic safe harbor rules are met (29 CFR 2520.104b-1(c), details at the link below: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title29-vol9/pdf/CFR-2012-title29-vol9-sec2520-104b-1.pdf 

To help employers provide the notice, model notices are available. There are two models available, one for employers who provide health insurance to their employees and another for those employers who do not provide health insurance coverage. The models may be found at the links below:

• For employers who provide health insurance coverage to their employees:


• FLSAwithplans.doc (Microsoft Word version)
• FLSAwithplans.pdf (PDF)
• FLSAwithplanssp.pdf (Spanish version)
    
• For employers who do not provide health insurance coverage to their employees:


• FLSAwithoutplans.doc (Microsoft Word version)
• FLSAwithoutplans.pdf (PDF)
• FLSAwithoutplanssp.pdf (Spanish version)