Trader Joe’s told employees that workers who log less than 30 hours a week will have to obtain health insurance on Obamacare exchanges in 2014.
The announcement came in a memo to staff by the grocery store’s CEO Dan Bane on Aug. 30. The memo was obtained by The Huffington Post. Trader Joe’s will continue to offer its coverage plan to employees who work more than 30 hours a week.
Trader Joe’s had previously been praised for offering health care, vision, and dental coverage to even part time workers. But when lower-wage workers become eligible for tax subsidies under the new health care law, they will have to seek health care coverage outside of the company’s plan if they work fewer than 30 hours a week. The company will also give part-time employees a $500 check meant to help them find a healthcare plan under Obamacare.
“Depending on income you may earn outside of Trader Joe’s we believe that with the $500 from Trader Joe’s and the tax credits available under the [Affordable Care Act], many of you should be able to obtain health care coverage at very little if any net cost to you,” Bane wrote in the memo.
According to the memo, over the next three months Trader Joe’s will determine whether part-time employees who work more than 30 hours per week will be eligible for the full Trader Joe’s plan.
