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The rush is already on to line up seasonal help. Seasonal job postings on one
recruiting website started to hit peak demand levels from prior years in early
October, about a month earlier than usual. The projected total number of
seasonal jobs this holiday season between 640,000 and 690,000 is
expected by the National Retail Federation to be about the same as last year.
Employers might need to pay a little more for seasonal hires this year than in
the past, according to one informal survey. That's because with the
unemployment rate dropping lately, many workers can afford to be more
choosey. The survey, conducted by the Wall Street Journal, included responses
from economists and labor market experts.
Not all employers have the same busy seasons, of course, so your situation
could be different in terms of which months are the most hectic. Even so,
don't cut corners when selecting, hiring and training seasonal workers. Not
only do you want them to be well qualified for the seasonal job, but if you see
that some of them excel, you might keep them in mind when you need to fill
regular positions.
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The rules regarding eligibility for health care benefits is where things may get
complicated.
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The basic rule is that if you have at least 50 full-time and full-time equivalent
employees, you are subject to the employer mandate (also called the
"employer shared responsibility provision"). Even so, you are only required to
offer health benefits to full-time employees.
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"Workers" vs."Employees"
The definition of a seasonal worker offered by the IRS is relatively loose.
"Seasonal workers are workers who perform labor or services on a seasonal
basis, as defined by the Secretary of Labor, and include retail workers
employed exclusively during holiday seasons. For this purpose, employers may
apply a reasonable, good faith interpretation of the term 'seasonal worker.'" In
other words, those people you hire for a few weeks to augment a retail store's
staff for the holiday shopping season are seasonal workers. They aren't part of
your headcount of full-time and full-time equivalent employees.
The IRS defines a seasonal employee as one who "is hired into a position for
which the customary annual employment is six months or less and for which
the period of employment begins each calendar year in approximately the
same part of the year, such as summer or winter." Some retail stores, for
example, have regular staff members who are laid off for several months
during the slower season, and return to work when business picks up, without
the need to be rehired.
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Likewise, to be on the safe side, companies that are not already subject to the
employer mandate but are close may want to seek legal counsel before
making seasonal hiring plans.
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