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House|Senate

113th Congress, Vote 156; House of Representatives #2575

Save American Workers Act of 2014


Official Title: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 30-hour threshold for classification as a full-time employee for purposes of the employer mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and replace it with 40 hours.

HR 2575: Save American Workers Act of 2014
Passed by the House April 3, 2014, 248-179.

Synopsis: HR 2575 would redefine "full time" under the ACA. As written, the law considers anyone working 30 or more hours per week to be a full-time employee. HR 2575 would require 40 hours per week in order to be considered full-time.

Beginning in 2016, the ACA’s employer shared responsibility provision requires employers with at least 50 full-time equivalent employees to offer health insurance to their employees who work at least 30 hours per week (for larger employers, the requirement is effective in 2015).

Redefining full time as 40 hours means that employers would not have to provide insurance to as many workers. But it also means more people would qualify for Medicaid/CHIP or subsidies in the health insurance exchanges, increasing the burden on taxpayers.

Why supporters pushed for this bill

  • Industry groups, particularly those in the hospitality and convenience sectors, were among the most outspoken supporters of HR 2575. The National Restaurant Association said that HR 2575 would provide "significant relief" to the restaurant industry, noting the ACA’s 30 hour definition of full time is "artificially low" and limits employers’ ability to provide the flexible work schedules that employees prefer.
  • The Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing said that changing the definition of full time to 40 hours per week would be "more in line with what has traditionally been considered a full-time employee" and would give employers "needed flexibility."
  • The hotel industry claimed that unless full time were to be redefined as 40 hours per week, the current law would lead employers to cut hours, resulting in more part-time workers who have to obtain second jobs in order to make ends meet.
  • The National Grocer’s Association noted that the 30 hour definition of full time is "drastically altering what opportunities are available to part time workers" and applauded the effort to redefine full time as 40 hours per week.
  • If the definition of full-time is increased to 40 hours a week, businesses won’t have to insure as many workers. So it’s generally seen as a boon to employers, particularly those who tend to employ a lot of people who work fewer than 40 hours per week.
  • If the definition of full-time is increased to 40 hours a week, employers would be able to bump up their current part-time employees’ hours to just under 40 per week, without being required to offer them health insurance. HR 2575 supporters note that this would increase these workers’ compensation.

Why opponents tried to stop the bill

  • The CBO projected that HR 2575 would result in about one million fewer people covered under employer-sponsored health plans.
  • The CBO also noted that the legislation would increase the number of uninsured Americans by about 500,000, and would result in about 500,000 to one million additional people on Medicaid/CHIP or the private coverage in the health insurance exchanges. Since Medicaid/CHIP and exchange subsidies are funded by tax dollars, the CBO projected that HR 2575 would increase the budget deficit by nearly $74 billion from 2015 to 2025.
  • If employers are likely to cut employee hours to avoid the employer mandate, the problem would be more significant if HR 2575 redefined full time as 40 hours per week. Most workers put in at least 35 to 40 hours per week. While it would be problematic for employers to reduce a worker’s hours from 40 to 29, it would be much more realistic to expect that someone working 40 hours might see their hours cut down to 39 – along with a loss of health insurance coverage.
  • Very few employers have to make changes as a result of the ACA’s shared-responsibility provision. Most large employers already offer coverage to their workers, and small businesses arent required to offer coverage under the law. HR 2575 is seen by some as an implications that the employer shared-responsibility mandate is a significant burden on employers, but most employers already comply with the existing rules.
  • Opponents of HR 2575 see the legislation as a thinly veiled attempt to undermine the ACA.
04/03/2014 Status: House passed

More: select a member to see his or her other key health care votes.

Yes (248)
R Don Young AK
R Robert Aderholt AL
R Spencer Bachus AL
R Mo Brooks AL
R Bradley Byrne AL
R Martha Roby AL
R Mike Rogers AL
R Tom Cotton AR
R Eric Crawford AR
R Tim Griffin AR
R Steve Womack AR
D Ron Barber AZ
R Trent Franks AZ
R Paul Gosar AZ
R David Schweikert AZ
D Kyrsten Sinema AZ
D Ami Bera CA
R Ken Calvert CA
R John Campbell CA
R Paul Cook CA
D Jim Costa CA
R Jeff Denham CA
R Duncan Hunter CA
R Darrell Issa CA
R Doug LaMalfa CA
R Kevin McCarthy CA
R Tom McClintock CA
R Howard McKeon CA
R Gary Miller CA
R Devin Nunes CA
D Scott Peters CA
R Dana Rohrabacher CA
R Edward Royce CA
R David Valadao CA
R Mike Coffman CO
R Cory Gardner CO
R Doug Lamborn CO
R Scott Tipton CO
R Gus Bilirakis FL
R Vern Buchanan FL
R Ander Crenshaw FL
R Ron DeSantis FL
R Mario Diaz-Balart FL
R David Jolly FL
R John Mica FL
R Jeff Miller FL
D Patrick Murphy FL
R Richard Nugent FL
R Bill Posey FL
R Thomas Rooney FL
R Ileana Ros-Lehtinen FL
R Dennis Ross FL
R Steve Southerland FL
R Daniel Webster FL
R Ted Yoho FL
D John Barrow GA
D Sanford Bishop GA
R Paul Broun GA
R Doug Collins GA
R Phil Gingrey GA
R Tom Graves GA
R Jack Kingston GA
R Tom Price GA
R Austin Scott GA
R Lynn Westmoreland GA
R Rob Woodall GA
R Steve King IA
R Tom Latham IA
R Raúl Labrador ID
R Michael Simpson ID
R Rodney Davis IL
R Randy Hultgren IL
R Adam Kinzinger IL
D Daniel Lipinski IL
R Peter Roskam IL
D Bradley Schneider IL
R Aaron Schock IL
R John Shimkus IL
R Susan Brooks IN
R Larry Bucshon IN
R Luke Messer IN
R Todd Rokita IN
R Marlin Stutzman IN
R Jackie Walorski IN
R Todd Young IN
R Tim Huelskamp KS
R Lynn Jenkins KS
R Mike Pompeo KS
R Kevin Yoder KS
R Garland Barr KY
R Brett Guthrie KY
R Thomas Massie KY
R Harold Rogers KY
R Ed Whitfield KY
R Charles Boustany LA
R Bill Cassidy LA
R John Fleming LA
R Vance McAllister LA
R Steve Scalise LA
D John Delaney MD
R Andy Harris MD
R Justin Amash MI
R Dan Benishek MI
R Kerry Bentivolio MI
R Dave Camp MI
R Bill Huizenga MI
R Candice Miller MI
R Mike Rogers MI
R Fred Upton MI
R Tim Walberg MI
R Michele Bachmann MN
R John Kline MN
R Erik Paulsen MN
D Collin Peterson MN
R Sam Graves MO
R Vicky Hartzler MO
R Billy Long MO
R Blaine Luetkemeyer MO
R Jason Smith MO
R Ann Wagner MO
R Gregg Harper MS
R Alan Nunnelee MS
R Steven Palazzo MS
R Steve Daines MT
R Howard Coble NC
R Renee Ellmers NC
R Virginia Foxx NC
R George Holding NC
R Richard Hudson NC
R Walter Jones NC
R Patrick McHenry NC
D Mike McIntyre NC
R Mark Meadows NC
R Robert Pittenger NC
R Kevin Cramer ND
R Jeff Fortenberry NE
R Adrian Smith NE
R Lee Terry NE
R Rodney Frelinghuysen NJ
R Scott Garrett NJ
R Leonard Lance NJ
R Frank LoBiondo NJ
R Jon Runyan NJ
R Christopher Smith NJ
R Stevan Pearce NM
R Mark Amodei NV
R Joseph Heck NV
R Chris Collins NY
R Christopher Gibson NY
R Michael Grimm NY
R Richard Hanna NY
R Peter King NY
R Tom Reed NY
R Steve Chabot OH
R Bob Gibbs OH
R Bill Johnson OH
R Jim Jordan OH
R David Joyce OH
R Robert Latta OH
R James Renacci OH
R Steve Stivers OH
R Patrick Tiberi OH
R Michael Turner OH
R Brad Wenstrup OH
R Jim Bridenstine OK
R Tom Cole OK
R Frank Lucas OK
R Markwayne Mullin OK
D Kurt Schrader OR
R Greg Walden OR
R Lou Barletta PA
R Charles Dent PA
R Michael Fitzpatrick PA
R Jim Gerlach PA
R Mike Kelly PA
R Tom Marino PA
R Patrick Meehan PA
R Tim Murphy PA
R Scott Perry PA
R Joseph Pitts PA
R Keith Rothfus PA
R Bill Shuster PA
R Glenn Thompson PA
R Jeff Duncan SC
R Trey Gowdy SC
R Mick Mulvaney SC
R Tom Rice SC
R Marshall Sanford SC
R Joe Wilson SC
R Kristi Noem SD
R Diane Black TN
R Marsha Blackburn TN
R Scott DesJarlais TN
R John Duncan TN
R Stephen Fincher TN
R Charles Fleischmann TN
R David Roe TN
R Joe Barton TX
R Kevin Brady TX
R Michael Burgess TX
R John Carter TX
R K. Conaway TX
D Henry Cuellar TX
R John Culberson TX
R Blake Farenthold TX
R Bill Flores TX
D Pete Gallego TX
R Louie Gohmert TX
R Kay Granger TX
R Ralph Hall TX
R Jeb Hensarling TX
R Sam Johnson TX
R Kenny Marchant TX
R Michael McCaul TX
R Randy Neugebauer TX
R Pete Olson TX
R Ted Poe TX
R Pete Sessions TX
R Lamar Smith TX
R Steve Stockman TX
R Mac Thornberry TX
R Randy Weber TX
R Roger Williams TX
R Rob Bishop UT
R Jason Chaffetz UT
D Jim Matheson UT
R Chris Stewart UT
R Eric Cantor VA
R J. Forbes VA
R Bob Goodlatte VA
R H. Griffith VA
R Robert Hurt VA
R Edward Rigell VA
R Robert Wittman VA
R Frank Wolf VA
R Doc Hastings WA
R J. Herrera Beutler WA
R C. McMorris Rodgers WA
R David Reichert WA
R Sean Duffy WI
R Thomas Petri WI
R Reid Ribble WI
R Paul Ryan WI
R F. Sensenbrenner WI
R Shelley Capito WV
R David McKinley WV
D Nick Rahall WV
R Cynthia Lummis WY
No (179)
Our pick
D Terri Sewell AL
D Raúl Grijalva AZ
D Ann Kirkpatrick AZ
D Ed Pastor AZ
D Karen Bass CA
D Xavier Becerra CA
D Julia Brownley CA
D Lois Capps CA
D Tony Cárdenas CA
D Judy Chu CA
D Susan Davis CA
D Anna Eshoo CA
D Sam Farr CA
D John Garamendi CA
D Janice Hahn CA
D Michael Honda CA
D Jared Huffman CA
D Barbara Lee CA
D Zoe Lofgren CA
D Alan Lowenthal CA
D Doris Matsui CA
D Jerry McNerney CA
D George Miller CA
D Grace Napolitano CA
D G. Negrete McLeod CA
D Nancy Pelosi CA
D L. Roybal-Allard CA
D Raul Ruiz CA
D Linda Sánchez CA
D Loretta Sanchez CA
D Adam Schiff CA
D Brad Sherman CA
D Jackie Speier CA
D Eric Swalwell CA
D Mark Takano CA
D Mike Thompson CA
D Juan Vargas CA
D Maxine Waters CA
D Henry Waxman CA
D Diana DeGette CO
D Ed Perlmutter CO
D Jared Polis CO
D Joe Courtney CT
D Rosa DeLauro CT
D Elizabeth Esty CT
D James Himes CT
D John Larson CT
D John Carney DE
D Corrine Brown FL
D Theodore Deutch FL
D Lois Frankel FL
D Joe Garcia FL
D Alan Grayson FL
D Alcee Hastings FL
D D. Wasserman Schultz FL
D Frederica Wilson FL
D Henry Johnson GA
D John Lewis GA
D David Scott GA
D Tulsi Gabbard HI
D Colleen Hanabusa HI
D Bruce Braley IA
D David Loebsack IA
D Cheri Bustos IL
D Danny Davis IL
D Tammy Duckworth IL
D William Enyart IL
D Bill Foster IL
D Luis Gutiérrez IL
D Robin Kelly IL
D Mike Quigley IL
D Bobby Rush IL
D Janice Schakowsky IL
D André Carson IN
D Peter Visclosky IN
D John Yarmuth KY
D Cedric Richmond LA
D Michael Capuano MA
D Katherine Clark MA
D William Keating MA
D Joseph Kennedy MA
D James McGovern MA
D Richard Neal MA
D John Tierney MA
D Niki Tsongas MA
D Elijah Cummings MD
D Donna Edwards MD
D Steny Hoyer MD
D C. Ruppersberger MD
D John Sarbanes MD
D Chris Van Hollen MD
D Michael Michaud ME
D Chellie Pingree ME
D John Conyers MI
D John Dingell MI
D Daniel Kildee MI
D Sander Levin MI
D Gary Peters MI
D Keith Ellison MN
D Betty McCollum MN
D Richard Nolan MN
D Timothy Walz MN
D Wm. Clay MO
D Emanuel Cleaver MO
D Bennie Thompson MS
D George Butterfield NC
D David Price NC
D Ann Kuster NH
D Carol Shea-Porter NH
D Rush Holt NJ
D Frank Pallone NJ
D Bill Pascrell NJ
D Donald Payne NJ
D Albio Sires NJ
D Ben Luján NM
D M. Lujan Grisham NM
D Steven Horsford NV
D Dina Titus NV
D Timothy Bishop NY
D Yvette Clarke NY
D Joseph Crowley NY
D Eliot Engel NY
D Brian Higgins NY
D Steve Israel NY
D Hakeem Jeffries NY
D Nita Lowey NY
D Daniel Maffei NY
D Carolyn Maloney NY
D Sean Maloney NY
D Carolyn McCarthy NY
D Gregory Meeks NY
D Grace Meng NY
D Jerrold Nadler NY
D William Owens NY
D Charles Rangel NY
D José Serrano NY
D Louise Slaughter NY
D Paul Tonko NY
D Nydia Velázquez NY
D Joyce Beatty OH
D Marcia Fudge OH
D Marcy Kaptur OH
D Tim Ryan OH
D Earl Blumenauer OR
D Suzanne Bonamici OR
D Peter DeFazio OR
D Robert Brady PA
D Matthew Cartwright PA
D Michael Doyle PA
D Chaka Fattah PA
D Allyson Schwartz PA
D David Cicilline RI
D James Langevin RI
D James Clyburn SC
D Steve Cohen TN
D Jim Cooper TN
D Joaquin Castro TX
D Lloyd Doggett TX
D Al Green TX
D Gene Green TX
D Rubén Hinojosa TX
D Sheila Jackson Lee TX
D Eddie Johnson TX
D Beto O’Rourke TX
D Marc Veasey TX
D Filemon Vela TX
D Gerald Connolly VA
D James Moran VA
D Robert Scott VA
D Peter Welch VT
D Suzan DelBene WA
D Denny Heck WA
D Derek Kilmer WA
D Rick Larsen WA
D Jim McDermott WA
D Adam Smith WA
D Ron Kind WI
D Gwen Moore WI
D Mark Pocan WI
Not Voting (4)
R Matt Salmon AZ
D Kathy Castor FL
D Stephen Lynch MA
R James Lankford OK