ACA Q&A: Early Distribution of the Exchange Notice to New Hires

We’ve been receiving questions from employers who would like to stay ahead of the curve and distribute the Model Exchange Notice to their employees months before the 10/1/13 deadline. Once an employer starts giving out the notice to their current employees, are they then required to start distributing it to all new hires?

Question

“If we send out the exchange (marketplace) notices on 7/1/13, should we then employ the practice of giving the notice to new hires within 14 days of hire or can we wait until after 10/1/13?”

Answer

The technical release doesn’t explicitly state that the new hire distribution would need to begin once the Model Exchange Notice goes to the remaining employee population. One would think that once an employer begins to comply with this requirement, they should comply with all of it. But, the notice makes no such stipulation.

The language from Technical Notice 2013-02 is as follows:

Employers are required to provide the notice to each new employee at the time of hiring beginning October 1, 2013. For 2014, the Department will consider a notice to be provided at the time of hiring if the notice is provided within 14 days of an employee’s start date.

With respect to employees who are current employees before October 1, 2013, employers are required to provide the notice no later than October 1, 2013. The notice is required to be provided automatically, free of charge.