老牛影视joined 42 other national and state organizations in signing onto a to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin asking the department to address the confusing and conflicting definitions of 鈥渟easonal worker鈥� and 鈥渟easonal employee鈥� that are included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its implementing regulations.

The letter points out that due to the varying definition of 鈥渟easonal,鈥� small businesses continue to struggle with determining their employer size and employer shared responsibility requirements. When complying with the ACA, it is possible for the same worker to be a 鈥渟easonal worker鈥� for the purpose of determining employer size, but not be considered a 鈥渟easonal employee鈥� under an employer鈥檚 shared responsibility obligations.

The letter explains that the various definitions of 鈥渟easonal鈥� include:听

• A 鈥渟easonal worker鈥� is defined as 鈥渁 worker who performs labor on a seasonal basis as defined by the secretary of labor鈥� in determining whether an employer is treated as a small business or a large business, known as an applicable large employer (ALE).听
• The ACA鈥檚 鈥渟easonal worker exception鈥� is used for determining ALE size. The regulation allows employers to examine if seasonal workers put the employer over the 50-employee threshold for 120 days or less. This determination is made on an annual calendar-year basis.听
• If determined to be an ALE for the calendar year, the employer must determine to whom coverage must be offered; otherwise they face a potential penalty. Options include using either a monthly measurement method or an optional look-back measurement method. Under the optional look-back measurement method, 鈥渟easonal employee鈥� is defined as an 鈥渆mployee who is hired into a position for which the customary annual employment is six months or less.鈥澨�

In the letter, 老牛影视and the other organizations requested an open dialogue with Secretary Mnuchin to discuss possible approaches to simplifying the various definitions to the extent allowed by regulation.听