8879 / How are employees who work for two separate employers that are under common control treated in determining whether an employer is subject to the ACA shared responsibility provisions? 

The Affordable Care Act shared responsibility rules treat two or more employers that are under common control as a single employer for purposes of determining whether that employer is an applicable large employer so that the shared responsibility penalties may apply.¹ As a result, all of an employee’s hours of service with each member of a group of employers that are under common control are added together in determining whether that employee is a full-time employee for purposes of applicable large employer status.

Conversely, if the employee works for two employers who are not under common control, the employee’s hours of service with the first employer are not counted as hours of service with the second employer.²

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1. IRC § 4980(c)(2)(C)(i).

2. IRS Questions & Answers on Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions Under the Affordable Care Act, available at: http://www.irs.gov/Affordable-Care-Act/Employers/Questions-and-Answers-on-Employer-Shared-Responsibility-Provisions-Under-the-Affordable-Care-Act (last accessed September 28, 2024).