Employees may be eligible for ACA benefits based on the following criteria.  

• Business leave, hold or short work break without benefits.
• Reduction of your position’s standard hours to less than 20 hours per week.
• Rehired into a non-benefits eligible position within 26 weeks of separation — i.e., retirement or termination — from a benefits-eligible position.
• Termination of your benefits-eligible position while remaining employed in a non-benefits eligible position.

Upon determination of eligibility of benefits under the Affordable Care Act, employees will be notified by email. The email will provide specific information and instructions for the employee to follow based on their circumstances. Refer to the ACA benefits eligibility chart.

Department responsibilities
Contact ASU ACA Compliance regarding employees meeting any of the criteria listed above. The ASU ACA compliance team will determine if further action is required and advise accordingly.  View the employment matrix for new positions.

Enrolling or declining coverage 
The ACA does not require you to enroll in benefits offered by ASU. However, whether you enroll or decline these benefits, you will be automatically enrolled in a university-paid basic life insurance policy equal to your annual salary.

If you decline coverage, please submit a completed benefits enrollment and change form declining all coverage to HR Benefits within the 30-calendar-day enrollment period. Failure to submit the enrollment and change form within this timeframe will result in no changes to your current elections.

Premiums for elected coverage are withheld from your biweekly paychecks. If you don’t receive a biweekly paycheck, we will send an invoice to your home address listed in My ASU. If you fail to remit premiums for your share of the costs by the due date, your coverage will terminate at midnight on the last day of the pay period in which premiums were paid in full. Further, you will forfeit your right to continue coverage under federal COBRA regulations. 

ACA termination coverage conditions
ACA benefits continue for one year or the stability period if eligibility is met following the initial measurement period.

• Eligibility after one year is then determined for the next year following the standard measurement period. 
• If eligibility is not met following the standard measurement period, coverage may terminate at midnight on the last day of the pay period in which your last day of eligibility occurs.
• You will be given the opportunity to continue your medical, dental or vision coverage under the federal COBRA regulations. Information will be mailed to your home by the Arizona Department of Administration Benefit Services Division.

ACA benefits continue through the end of the calendar year if eligibility is met following the standard measurement period. 

• Eligibility in the next calendar year is then determined during the standard measurement period. 
• Coverage may terminate at midnight on the last day of the pay period in which the last day of the calendar year occurs. 
• You will be given the opportunity to continue your medical, dental or vision coverage under the federal COBRA regulations. Information will be mailed to your home by the Arizona Department of Administration Benefit Services Division.

If ASU employment is; terminated, coverage ends at midnight on the last day of the pay period in which your last day worked occurs. You will be given the opportunity to continue your medical, dental or vision coverage under the federal COBRA regulations. Information will be mailed to your home by the Arizona Department of Administration Benefit Services Division.

Options for ACA after coverage terminates 

• Arizona Department of Administration offers retiree insurance and COBRA.  
• Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System —  Arizona’s Medicaid.
• Arizona State Retirement System is for eligible retirees only.
• Arizona State University Benefits Office — This applies if regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week for at least 90 days in a non-student position.
• Contact your current provider to convert your policy to a personal healthcare insurance policy.
• Health Insurance Marketplace 
• Medicare
   

Departments and hiring managers can use these measurement periods to determine benefits eligibility. 

First standard measurement period after the initial measurement period: If an employee does not average 30 or more hours per week, coverage is canceled at the end of the initial stability period.
Subsequent standard measurement periods: If an employee does not average 30 or more hours per week, coverage is canceled at 11:59 pm at the end of the pay period in which Dec. 31 occurs.

Refer to the ASU measurement and stability periods chart for details.

Break-in service rules 

The Affordable Care Act guidelines must be used to determine average hours during the initial and standard measurement periods for all academic personnel, staff members and student employees.

Why does the university hire fixed-term teaching faculty or contingent faculty members?

ASU offers thousands of sections of courses each semester. Most courses are taught by tenured and tenure-eligible faculty members. However, even with all the faculty members available, ASU often needs to hire additional, fixed-term faculty to cover all the courses. The need for short-term contingent faculty appointees also can arise from unplanned professional or personal circumstances that temporarily cause a person who normally would teach to be unavailable for a semester, leaving some assignments uncovered. Because of the length of time required for the recruitment of a tenured or tenure-eligible faculty line, short-term contingent faculty also are used to cover course assignments when current faculty retire or resign. Finally, enrollment fluctuations also affect the hiring needs from semester to semester.

To handle course sections in those cases where a section remains unassigned, ASU hires contingent faculty members to cover them. These contracts are for a fixed term — usually an academic year or less — and specifically target the courses uncovered during that term.

Note: There should never be an expectation of employment beyond the term of a fixed-term contract. Because the number of uncovered sections varies from semester to semester, the makeup of this contingent faculty group changes every semester. Some units may need many contingent faculty members one semester and none the next. Thus, some contingent faculty members may complete a fixed-term contract and then be rehired on another fixed-term contract based on institutional needs and individual performance.

What changes have been made recently for job titles for contingent faculty members?

The Affordable Care Act requires that those whose employment would make them eligible for health care under the provisions of that law must be offered that benefit. 

To address that requirement, ASU has moved to consistently enforce throughout the institution the benefits-eligibility expectations for two of the contingent faculty categories: instructor and faculty associate.

There are other categories of contingent faculty members, but these are the two types most commonly used to teach uncovered course sections. The benefits-eligibility status for these two job titles existed in the past, but some academic units did not adhere tightly to them. Under ACA, ASU can no longer permit that flexibility.

A contingent faculty member hired as benefits-eligible is given the instructor job title for the fixed term of their employment — and no other use of that title is allowed. These individuals typically work more than 0.50 FTE or already receive benefits through another job at ASU. Similarly, the title faculty associate is given to a contingent faculty member who is non-benefits eligible based on that person’s assignment — usually, 0.40 FTE or less — for the fixed term of that person’s employment and no other use of that title is allowed.

Won’t these changes cause individual contingent faculty members to lose course assignments?

No. As explained above, there is no expectation of continued employment for contingent faculty members. A contingent faculty member does not have a guarantee from year to year of a particular course assignment or a particular number of sections. Further, enrollment fluctuations also can eliminate the need for a section even within the current term of employment. Each semester still represents a new hiring season for contingent faculty members. The stricter assignment of these two job titles noted above will allow the university to better track its ACA compliance. 

What changes have been made to assignments for contract teaching faculty members?

The hiring of contingent faculty members will still be based on the institutional need at that particular time. 

To simplify course planning and section assignments while ensuring ACA compliance, many academic units and colleges are moving to consolidate uncovered sections during the upcoming year so as to increase the number of those hired in the instructor category while decreasing the number of contingent faculty hired as faculty associates. To date, more than 150 such full-time or nearly full-time instructor positions have been created for fall 2013. While this consolidation promotes ACA compliance and simplifies planning, there also are salutary effects — e.g., improved student performance and retention and communication to the institution when contingent faculty members have greater FTE assignments. Those in the instructor category also benefit from being benefits-eligible.

When is a part-time teaching position eligible for benefits?

Eligibility may arise through either the Affordable Care Act provisions or guidelines from the Arizona Department of Administration. In brief, a person is eligible for benefits while employed at ASU if he or she meets the following criteria:

1. The person will work for ASU at 0.50 or greater FTE averaged over the academic year.
2. The person will work for ASU at 0.50 or greater FTE averaged over any continuous 90 calendar day period, including the time immediately before or after the period to the person is employed part-time.
3. The person who has worked or will work for ASU 90 calendar days or longer then begins working 0.50 or greater FTE.

To ensure compliance with these sets of expectations, the guidelines below explain how to handle these appointments. For appointments of one semester or longer, these guidelines are conservative. Appointments for less than a semester will require greater scrutiny, documentation and approval by the Provost’s office.

What types of part-time teaching positions exist?

 ASU hires a varying number of fixed-term instructional personnel called faculty associates, academic associates and instructors. These roles temporarily fill gaps in the normal pool of faculty so that a unit can offer needed specialized knowledge, provide coverage due to faculty leaves, etc. The lengths of the term for these fixed-term temporary appointments will vary based on the needs of the institution. Beyond the fixed term of the contract, there is no explicit or implicit expectation of continued employment, including the number of courses to be assigned.

Faculty associate or academic associate job titles are only to be used for part-time, non-benefits eligible positions. Faculty associates should not be hired routinely for multiple semesters in a given year. Beyond the fixed term of the contract, there can be no explicit or implicit expectation of continued employment for faculty associate positions, including the number of courses to be assigned.

The Instructor job title is used for part-time and full-time benefits-eligible, fixed-term temporary instructional personnel positions.

Most appointments will be for one semester or for an academic year. Appointments of less than one semester such as Session A or Session B require prior review and approval by the Provost’s Office.  These appointments of less than one semester will require extra documentation by the appointing unit, which may delay their implementation. One focus of the Provost’s review will be to determine whether benefits must be provided.

When should I use the title faculty associate and when should I use the title instructor?

The use of either title depends on whether the person is receiving benefits because of the above considerations or because they hold another job at ASU that makes them benefits-eligible. Our intention is to have the title reflect whether the person is eligible for benefits as an instructor or non-faculty associate. For that reason, the title might not strictly correlate with FTE for the temporary, fixed-term teaching position.

• If the person who will take the temporary, fixed-term teaching position will be benefits-eligible, including if the person is benefits-eligible due to another appointment at ASU, the job title for the temporary, fixed-term teaching position should be instructor, regardless of FTE.
• If the person who will take the temporary, fixed-term teaching position job does not qualify for benefits — either from the temporary, fixed-term teaching position or from another benefits-eligible position at the institution — the temporary, fixed-term job should carry the title faculty associate.

What FTE is appropriate for a part-time teaching position?

The standard work-week assignment for one three-credit-hour course is no more than 0.20 FTE when that course is offered over an entire semester — for example, session C — and no more than 0.40 FTE for a course offered in a 7.5-week session — for example, session A or B. FTE assignments for other course credit-hour variations will be calculated on this same basis, pro-rated for the number of credit hours. Exceptions to this standard will require the department to submit a justification and request for approval of an alternative FTE assignment through the respective dean to the Provost; the Provost’s Office is responsible for final approval of any variation from the standard.

For Faculty Associate positions of one semester or more in duration, an assignment of a three-credit-hour course each in A and C or B and C is allowable, as the average over the semester is 0.40 FTE. This assignment should be entered into HRIS as follows:

1. Session A or B plus Session C jobs must be reflected in two EMPL/JOB records with an average of 0.40 FTE for the semester. The job record of both sessions — either Session A or B and Session C — must be 0.20 FTE each in HRIS to average 0.40 FTE for the semester. Session A or B paid over five pay periods and Session C paid over 10 pay periods. Remember: One three-credit-hour course for the semester in Session A or B is 0.40 FTE, and one three-credit-hour for the semester in Session C is 0.20 FTE. 
2. For an assignment of less than a semester’s duration, assignment of two three-credit-hour courses in an A or B session to a part-time faculty member may be allowed based on additional documentation, and review and approval of the details of the appointment by the Provost’s Office as noted above. The results of that review will determine whether or not the appointment will require benefits to be offered.
3. In the summer, a three-credit-hour course equates to a 0.50 FTE in a six-week summer session and to 0.38 FTE in an eight-week summer session. A Faculty Associate may be assigned to teach up to one three-credit-hour course in each six-week session or in an eight-week session, provided the person did not work more than 90 consecutive calendar days encompassing the session(s) when the person is employed, including time prior to or after the session in which the person is to be employed.  Also, it does not average more than 0.50 FTE. if the person has worked or will work at ASU for more than 90 consecutive calendar days and will be 0.50 FTE or more, that person should have the Instructor title and be provided benefits.

These FTE equivalencies apply regardless of the mode of instruction — e.g., face-to-face, online, hybrid.

FTE assignments must be adjusted immediately when changes in teaching assignments affect the number of credit hours taught.

To minimize the number of fuzzy situations, a total FTE assignment greater than 0.40 and less than 0.50 for a semester during the academic year is not permitted. Responsibilities for the period of employment should be adjusted to move the position either below 0.40 FTE or above 0.50 FTE. Depending on the considerations above, this change may alter the benefits eligibility.

What about multiple part-time positions?

An employee with a faculty, academic professional or postdoctoral position that is less than 0.50 FTE will not be allowed to hold more than one job at the university. If multiple departments or colleges desire to share a part-time employee, there must be a single offer letter that specifies expectations and proportion of FTE for each department or college for each of the assignments that comprise that single job, consistent with the limit of 0.40 FTE during a given semester. If changes are made to any of the assignments comprising the original offer, an amendment to the original letter will be made.

Multiple departments or colleges may share a full-time benefits-eligible, nontenure eligible position, in which case there must be one offer letter that specifies expectations and proportion of FTE for each department or college for each of the assignments that comprise that single job. Sharing colleges should reach an agreement on how benefits costs are to be shared, if applicable. This sort of arrangement should only be used to meet a critical instructional need that cannot be met through regular Faculty Associate appointments.
Departments may use multiple job records in HRIS to manage and pay for assignments that cross sessions — e.g., one course or record for A and one course or record — for C or departments, but the records must be managed by the respective college business office to ensure Faculty Associate positions do not exceed 0.40 FTE for the semester.

See the question regarding the appropriate FTE for HRIS instructions on entering assignments that cross sessions.

For a full-time faculty member who teaches an overload in his/her regular department, compensation for the overload will be paid as supplemental pay (not as a separate job), unless otherwise approved. Per ACD 510-02, supplemental pay equivalent to greater than 33 percent of the regular pay requires approval from the Provost’s Office. For a full-time faculty or staff employee who teaches outside of their regular department or job, compensation will be paid through a separate job.

• A staff employee who teaches outside his/her regular job should be given a second job titled instructional Professional or another staff title.
• A standard offer letter template that includes language prohibiting part-time employees from holding more than one job at ASU may be obtained from the Provost's Office.

Can students with a graduate teaching or research assistantships also teach part-time?

A key purpose of a graduate teaching or research assistantship is to enhance the student’s education and training. Even so, graduate teaching assistants and graduate research assistants are first and foremost graduate students. Students who hold graduate teaching or research assistantships also are pursuing graduate studies for the program to which they have been admitted.

• Students who hold 0.50 FTE cannot be hired as part-time teachers.
• If the graduate teaching or research assistantship is less than 0.40 FTE, review and approval of any potential job offer to the student must be made by the Provost’s Office and will require extra documentation.

How do I calculate FTE for part-time faculty?
The formula for courses held during the academic year is course credit hours divided by the number of weeks equals FTE.  See the following examples below. When completing standard hours in HRIS, enter total hours in half-hour increments only.  Review our summer faculty positions chart for more information. 

 Follow this process if the FTE is 0.50 or greater in the summer:

• A spring faculty associate hired for the summer, but returning to a faculty associate position less than .40 FTE in the fall should be hired as a variable summer or winter faculty position.
• A spring faculty associate hired for the summer, but returning to an instructor position greater than .50 FTE in the fall should be hired as an NT or NC academic summer Instructor and offered benefits and mandatory retirement,  not pre-collected — this is for summer positions only. 

If the person did not have benefits in the spring, please indicate the following in the summer offer letter or contract:

• Benefits enrollment deadline date. Inform them that the benefits will terminate if their FTE falls below .50 FTE.
• Must elect a mandatory retirement plan by the same date. Inform them that their retirement contributions will continue for the remainder of the fiscal year, regardless of FTE.

A spring instructor job with pre-collected benefits must be put on a short-work break for the summer, and the person must be hired as a variable summer or winter faculty position.
May I hire a part-time faculty member 0.41 – 0.49 FTE?
No. The department should do the following per the provost’s office:

• Hire other faculty associates so they stay at 0.40 FTE or less. 
• Provide additional duties, raise them to 0.50 FTE or more and make them benefits-eligible instructors.

How do I set up the position attributes for faculty or academic position appointments in the regular or temp field?
Regular positions are limited to academic-year appointments for tenure, tenure-track, continuing-status or continuing-status-eligible positions only.
The following non-benefits-eligible positions are variable:

• Faculty associate, faculty research associate and academic associate positions 0.40 FTE or less.
• Instructional Professional 0.40 FTE or less.
• Summer or winter faculty positions regardless of FTE.
• PRN positions longer than 90 days require advance ACA compliance approval by emailing ASU ACA Compliance prior to making the job offer.
• Graduate and student worker positions.

Nontenure or noncontinuing academic positions are used for benefits-eligible and some nonbenefits-eligible academic positions who are nontenure-track, nontenured, noncontinuing-status-eligible or noncontinuing-status positions:

Examples

• Academic positions with multiyear contracts.
• Benefits-eligible academic associates at 0.50 FTE or more must be retitled using one of the other titles in ACD 505–03 academic professional status, ranks, titles and appointment categories.
• Instructors, lecturers and instructional professionals at 0.50 FTE or more. Exception: If the Instructional Professional has another benefits-eligible position at 1.0 FTE, make the job "variable" to avoid excess paid leave accruals, etc.
• Post-doctoral scholars, regardless of FTE.
• Professors of practice, regardless of FTE.
• Summer instructor – not pre-collected. 

What do I need to know when hiring faculty for consecutive semesters?
If a part-time faculty member has been employed for 90 days or longer, including all short-work breaks, and works 0.50 FTE or more, they are eligible for benefits and retirement under Arizona State statute. If a faculty member becomes eligible for benefits and mandatory retirement, departments are encouraged to utilize the faculty member in benefits-eligible positions for the remainder of the academic years.
Note: Once faculty members become eligible for mandatory retirement, contributions and long-term disability coverage must continue for the remainder of the fiscal year, regardless of their FTE.

Can a faculty associate have a 0.50 FTE or greater for the summer session?
Yes. Please use the appropriate job title and characteristics as defined below:

• If the person worked in the preceding spring semester as a non-benefits-eligible faculty associate, the summer position at 0.40 FTE or less would be a non-benefits-eligible variable summer or winter faculty.
• If the person worked in the preceding spring semester as a non-benefits-eligible faculty associate, the summer position at 0.50 FTE or more would be a non-benefits-eligible variable summer or winter faculty due to employment duration of less than 90 days.
• If the person is expected to return in the fall semester in a benefits-eligible position, i.e. Instructor, the summer position at 0.50 FTE or more would be a benefits-eligible NT/NC Acad SUM Instructor, not pre-collected.

If the person did not have benefits in the spring, please indicate the following in the summer offer letter or contract:

• Benefits enrollment deadline date. Inform them that their benefits will terminate if their FTE falls below 0.50 FTE.
• Must elect a mandatory retirement plan by the same deadline. Inform them that their retirement contributions and long-term disability coverage will continue for the remainder of the fiscal year, regardless of FTE.
• Failure to completed enrollment within 30 calendar days of summer position’s hire or eligibility date will result in the inability to elect benefits until the next open enrollment period unless a qualified life-event occurs.

If the person did not work for ASU in the preceding spring semester, the summer position would be the following:

• Variable summer or winter faculty, regardless of FTE, provided the person does not have a subsequent fall contract for a benefits-eligible position. The person is not eligible for benefits or mandatory retirement since he or she will not work for a minimum of 90 days at .50 FTE or greater.
• Nontenure or noncontinuing academic summer instructor, not pre-collected if 0.50 FTE or more, provided the person has a summer and subsequent fall contract of .50 FTE or greater. The person is eligible for benefits and mandatory retirement since he or she will work for at least 90 days at .50 FTE or greater.

I thought the Affordable Care Act required employees to receive benefits for one year regardless of hours worked if they met the eligibility requirements. Will the person lose benefits in the above scenario if their FTE falls below 0.50?
We must comply with the state statute first, then ACA guidelines. For state eligibility requirements, if the faculty member or academic professional works 0.50 FTE or more and has been employed by ASU for 90 days or longer, including any short-work breaks, the person is eligible for benefits and mandatory retirement.
Yes, they will lose eligibility for state benefits if their FTE falls below 0.50. However, they will become eligible for ACA benefits if they averaged 0.75 FTE 30 hours or more for 12 consecutive months during their initial or standard measurement period. Each department is responsible for monitoring the ACA 30-hours trending report consistently on a biweekly basis.
Example: The faculty member is full-time, works 40 hours per week for 12 months, then the employee's FTE decreases to 0.20. State benefits end and they are offered ACA benefits.
Remember, the department must notify ASU ACA Compliance by email in advance of the FTE change to ensure a smooth and timely transition from state to ACA benefits.
Call 480-727-2359 if you need assistance with state and ACA benefits eligibility. 

Can a benefits-eligible faculty member or instructor hold a summer session position?
Yes. If the person worked in the spring semester, the summer position must be a variable summer or winter faculty.
Note: Only summer or winter faculty and academic professional positions will stay variable to accommodate pre-collected benefits functionality, effort reporting and earnings code summer.

Can a graduate student hold a faculty associate position in the summer?
Yes. Graduate students are the only individuals who can hold both student and non-student positions; however, they must follow the graduate student employment guidelines. 
What do I need to know when hiring a research or teaching assistant or associate into a summer faculty position?
If a graduate student exceeds the 0.625 FTE employment maximum, he or she will not be eligible to be rehired as a research assistant or teacher assistant for six consecutive months. To avoid affecting the benefits and tuition of an RA or TA, please plan carefully using the Student Worker Hours Review and Student Worker Hours Exceeded reports.

If a 0.25 FTE or 0. 50 FTE RA/TA holds a summer faculty 0.50 FTE position, is the graduate student eligible for benefits and retirement?
No, because the duration of a summer faculty position is less than 90 days.
When should I use the title "Academic Associate" and when should I use another academic professional position?
The academic associate job title is limited to part-time, variable and nonbenefits-eligible positions only. Use one of the other titles in ACD 505-3 academic professional status, ranks, titles and appointment categories for benefits-eligible academic professionals.

Can a person hold both a nonstudent and student position?

No, except graduate students who often hold faculty teaching and research positions to continue their education. The student employment program was established to help students secure part-time employment to earn supplementary income to meet educational expenses. To open more positions for persons receiving an ASU education, student-worker positions are limited to students who are not employed as part-time or full-time faculty or staff members at ASU.

What are the correct job characteristics of an undergraduate or graduate student position?

As noted in the employment matrix, student positions are limited to variable positions. We will change existing student positions for you.
Also, student positions are limited to part-time work, which is less than 40 hours or a full-time 40-hour workweek. Do not make a student position PRN.

Is service performed under federal- or state-sponsored work-study programs counted in determining ACA eligibility? 

No. Any hours worked while in a work-study program will not be used to determine whether students are eligible under the Affordable Care Act.
Note: Hours under any work-study program, however, will be counted when determining the employment maximums under the new employment guidelines for all students.

How many hours per week can an undergraduate student work for ASU?

International student workers with an F1 Visa are limited to 20 hours per week during the academic year and cannot exceed the rolling average of 25 hours per week for their 12-month measurement period. All undergraduate student workers are limited to a rolling average of 25 hours per week for the year. This maximum applies to the combined total of all jobs, including hours associated with stipends paid for services. Student-workers hired before Oct. 1, 2013, cannot average more than 25 hours per week during the standard Affordable Care Act measurement period beginning Oct. 2013 and ending Sept. 2014. Student-workers hired Oct. 1, 2013, or later cannot average more than 25 hours per week beginning the first of the month following their date of employment and continuing for 12 months. After their initial measurement period following ASU employment, they will be measured during the standard Affordable Care Act measurement period of October through September each year.
Learn more about the limitation on work hours policy.

What does a rolling average of 25 hours per week for the year mean?

An average of 25 hours per week for the first 12 months of ASU employment or, in subsequent years of employment from October through September.

Can undergraduate student workers work more than 25 hours per week during the summer?

Yes, provided they do not exceed an average of 25 hours per week for all positions, including stipend-paid positions, at ASU in either their first 12 months of employment or from October through September in subsequent years of employment.

Are hours associated with stipends applied toward ACA eligibility and the rolling average of 25 hours per week FTE maximum?

Yes. Departments must assign hours associated with all stipends paid through payroll for services provided by undergraduate and graduate students. These hours are subject to IRS audit to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act.

Can student workers exceed an average of 25 hours during the measurement period?

No. Student workers who exceed the 25-hour average must work with their supervisors to reduce their hours or terminate one or more jobs. Terminating all jobs does not reduce the average under ACA. See ACA Break-in-service Rules. Students who average more than 25 hours per week by the 11th month of their measurement period will be terminated from all ASU student jobs for a minimum of 26 consecutive weeks or six months.
Review Graduate Appointments and Assistantships for more information.

What is the maximum FTE allowed for all graduate assistantships and internships?

To ensure that student’s education and training are not compromised by commitments to additional employment:

• Students holding assistantships or Graduate Intern appointments during the academic year may work up to a maximum of 0.50 FTE for all positions combined.
• Students holding hourly student worker positions only — no assistantships or graduate Intern appointments — during the academic year may work a maximum of 25 hours per week.

All positions combined, including stipend-paid positions, cannot exceed 0.625 FTE during the measurement period as defined below:

• Student-workers hired before Oct. 1, 2013, cannot average more than 0.625 FTE or 25 hours per week during the standard Affordable Care Act measurement period beginning October 2013 and ending September 2014.
• Student-workers hired Oct. 1, 2013, or later cannot average more than 0.625 FTE or 25 hours per week beginning the first of the month following their date of employment and continuing for 12 months. After their initial measurement period following ASU employment, they will be measured during the standard Affordable Care Act measurement period, which is October through September each year.

Note: Only graduate students can hold both a nonstudent and student position.

Can graduate students work more than 50% during the summer?

Yes, provided they do not exceed the rolling average of 0.625 FTE or 25 hours per week during the measurement period: 
•    Students holding assistantships or internships may work up to a maximum of 1.00 FTE during the summer. 
•    Students holding hourly student worker positions may work up to a maximum of 40 hours per week during the summer.

Can students with a graduate assistantship or internship also hold another part-time job at ASU during the academic year?

Yes, provided all appointments and positions do not exceed 0.50 FTE during the academic year. 

Starting in June 2016, employers will begin receiving letters from the federally-facilitated or a state-based Health Insurance Marketplace, notifying them that one or more employees are enrolled in marketplace coverage and are eligible to receive an advance premium tax credit - subsidy - based on the employee’s responses when they applied for coverage. Employers have 90 days to contest the tax credit in writing to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Internal Revenue Service will determine if ASU is subject to any employer shared responsibility penalties under IRC section 4980H, which will is assessed at the department level.

Department benefits liaison responsibilities 

Although OHR’s mailing address is included on our Health Insurance Marketplace notice, the employee may have provided their worksite address. Failure to forward the notices to ACA Compliance or respond in a timely manner may also result in penalties assessed at the department level. 

What to do if you receive a subsidy notification

Please do not respond to these notifications; only members of the ACA Compliance team are authorized to respond or appeal. If a subsidy notification letter is received, please date stamp immediately. Scan a copy of the letter and email ACA compliance. Use in the subject line: Receipt of Subsidy Notification.  Include in the email the date you received notification and your first and last name.

Send your original letter in one of the following ways:

• Internal mail: Write ACA Compliance on the internal campus mail envelope. Use mail code 1304.
• In-person: Office of Human Resources is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, 1100 E. University Drive, Tempe, Arizona. 
• U.S. mail:  Send it to ASU ACA Compliance, P.O. Box 871304, Tempe AZ 85287-1304.