Deseret Industries, a Mormon church-owned non-profit in Salt Lake City, has slashed its workers’ hours to fewer than 30, circumventing a provision under the Affordable Care Act that requires companies to provide health insurance to full time employees.
Under the Affordable Care Act, companies with more than 50 employees must offer health insurance to employees who work 30 or more hours a week.
The company, according to the The Salt Lake Tribune, serves as a one year training program intended to help people fleeing from war-torn countries to learn the skills necessary for employment. Workers are paid a beginning wage of $7.25 per hour, but are not provided health insurance.
A spokesperson for the LDS Church told the paper that the company cut the hours in order to “serve as many people as possible.”
The Affordable Care Act goes into effect January 1.
