If a church offers insurance to the full-time employees who work less than 40 hours per week, coulda part-time employee qualify?
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If a church offers insurance to the full-time employees who work less than 40 hours per week, coulda part-time employee qualify?
My church offers health insurance to the full-time employees. I am part-time bookkeeper and wanted to see if I could join the group policy at the church. Full-time hours vary – some work 20 hours, some work 30 hours. My hours range from 8-12 per week.
Asked on June 7, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
First, employers--including churches--are free to set their own policies for whether to provide health insurance at all (no employer has to provide it) and for what the qualifications are. Typically, that means setting a threshhold number of hours worked per week to qualify, typically in the 20 - 25 hour per week range, though the employer may set any number it likes.
Second, once the threshhold is determined and set, it becomes part of the contract with the insurer. That means that anyone who meets that threshhold must be offered the coverage--and anyone who does not is ineligible and will not receive it. As with any other contract, its terms control.
Third, while people commonly talk about "full-time" vs. "part-time" employees, those terms really have no legal distinction. For example, as discussed above, for health insurance or other benefit purposes, what matters are the threshholds set for getting benefits--not whether the employee is called a full-time or part-time worker.
So you need to check what your church's health insurance contract says and what the threshhold is for coverage. If you meet that threshhold, you are eligible.
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