January 6, 2015 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Senate Majority Leader United States Capitol Washington, DC 20510 Management Committee American Hotel & Lodging American Rental Asian American Hotel Owners International Franchise National of Convenience Stores National of Theatre Owners National Grocers National National Retail Federation Society for Human Resource Management U.S. Dear Leader McConnell, The More Time for Full-Time Coalition ( ) greatly appreciates your steadfast support for restoring the traditional definition of full-time employee to 40 hours per week and urges you to move Senate consideration of legislation to do so as early as possible in the 114 th Congress. Many employees are being hurt by lost wages and hours because the 30-hour-per-week definition in the Affordable Care Act is forcing employers to restructure their workforce by reducing their employees hours to alleviate the burden of compliance. Harmonizing the definition of full-time employee in the ACA with the traditional 40-hour definition would benefit both employees through more hours and income, and employers now able to focus on growing their business and creating jobs rather than restructuring their workforce. If this is not addressed soon, our country will experience significant workforce disruptions and individuals as well as companies will lose valued workforce flexibility. We urge you to work in a bipartisan way to restore the traditional definition of full-time employment by changing the Affordable Care Act s 30-hour-per-week definition. Many Americans are drawn to part-time jobs with flexible hours to suit their personal needs. Further, employers with variable-hour workforces and flexible scheduling have been appealing and critical for students, single parents, and other individuals struggling to balance various obligations and commitments. This critical flexibility will be lost if employers are forced to abandon current practices in order to avoid significant financial penalties. Aligning the law s definition of full-time employee status with current levels would help avoid any unnecessary disruptions to employees wages and hours, and would provide significant relief. Thank you for considering our concerns and for your leadership in addressing a fundamental challenge employees and businesses face in implementing this law. Sincerely,
National s American Hotel & Lodging American Rental (ARA) Asian American Hotel Owners Associated Builders and Contractors College & University Professional for Human Resources International Franchise National of Convenience Stores National of Manufacturers National of Theatre Owners National of Truck Stop Operators National Club National Council of Chain s National Grocers National National Retail Federation Society for Human Resource Management U.S. State and Local s Adirondack Regional Alabama Grocers Alabama & Hospitality Alliance Alaska Chamber (AK) Alaska Hotel & Lodging Alaska & Hospitality Alliance Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber (NY) Alexander City (AL) Ames (IA) Angel Fire Chamber of (NM) ARA of Alabama ARA of Arizona ARA of Arkansas ARA of California ARA of Colorado ARA of Connecticut ARA of Florida ARA of Georgia ARA of Idaho ARA of Illinois ARA of Indiana ARA of Iowa ARA of Kentucky ARA of Louisiana
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