What is a Variable Hour Employee?

 A variable hour employee is an employee who, upon hiring, the employer is unable to determine whether or not the employee will regularly work 30 or more hours per week. It is critical to be able to classify employees to determine if – and when – they must be offered coverage. The employer responsibility rules provide a safe harbor to allow employers additional time to measure the hours worked by employees where it cannot be determined if the employee is reasonably expected to work on average at least 30 hours per week. If a new employee is determined to be full time during an initial measurement period or an ongoing employee is determined to be full time during a standard measurement period, then the employee is treated as full time during a subsequent stability period during which coverage must be offered.