According to the ACA, large employers are required to offer health insurance to their full-time employees, whereas small employers are not required to. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Large employers are defined as having 50 or more full-time equivalent employees.
- Small employers have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees.
Note, a full-time equivalent employee count is different than just counting all your full-time employees—check out this article to learn how to calculate your count.
Below is a table to help clarify some of the differences between “large” and “small” employers, except for those in the previously mentioned four states:
| Large employer | Small employer | |
| Definition | 50 or more full-time equivalent employees | Fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees |
| Requirements for health insurance | Required to offer health insurance to all employees who work 30 or more hours per work | Not required to offer health insurance to any employees |
Heads up: These laws and definitions are subject to change.