Note: Complete the instructions below to define the settings for the measurement, administrative, and stability periods, and create the periods each year.
From the Payroll screen, select the Government Reporting menu and then Affordable Care Act (ACA) Hours Tracking.
At the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Hours Tracking screen, click the Report Options tab.
If this is the first year using the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Hours Tracking option, complete the Ongoing Employees section.
In the First Stability Start Date (Insurance Start Date) field, enter the beginning date of the first stability period to track in the system for ongoing employees. Typically, this would be the beginning date of the school district's current insurance plan year. Use the mm/dd/yyyy format or click the down-arrow button to select the desired date. Initially, 07/01/2014 (or 09/01/2014 for Nebraska school districts) will appear as the default but can be changed.
In the Measurement Period (Months) field, enter the total number of months to measure the hours worked for the ongoing employees to determine if the employees are considered full-time. The number must be from 3 to 12, as stipulated within the Affordable Care Act guidelines. Initially, 12 will appear as the default but can be changed.
Enter the number of days or months used to administer the health insurance benefits for the ongoing employees (the time in which the benefits are offered and set up for the ongoing employees) in the Administrative Period field. Then enter Days or Months in the field located just to the right of the Administrative Period field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one (initially, Months will appear as the default but can be changed). The number must be from 0 to 90 for days, or from 0 to 2 for months, as stipulated within the Affordable Care Act guidelines.
Note: The administrative period is the time between the measurement period and the stability period. The system calculates the measurement period start date by taking the date entered in the First Stability Start Date field and subtracting the number of months in the measurement period and subtracting the number of days or months in the administrative period. If the calculated measurement period start date does not fall on the 1st or 15th of a month, a warning icon will appear to the right of the field stating to verify the periods.
Enter the number of months the ongoing employees offered health insurance will be covered (enrolled) in the Stability Period (Months) field. The number must be from 6 to 12, and cannot be less than the number entered in the Measurement Period (Months) field, as stipulated within the Affordable Care Act guidelines. Typically, this would be the number of months in the school district's insurance plan year. Initially, 12 will appear as the default but can be changed.
Note: The fields in the Ongoing Employees section are disabled once a year of periods has been added (in the Measurement Periods List). If needed, delete the year in the Measurement Periods List by clicking the Delete button located to the left of the row to delete (and click Yes when prompted); then make the necessary changes to the above fields and then create the year again. A year can only be deleted if there is not any data entered for employees for it from within the Employee File.
4. If this is the first year using the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Hours Tracking option, complete the New Hires section.
In the Measurement Start field, enter the appropriate option (First Day of Month or Start Date) for when to begin measuring the hours worked for newly hired employees. To begin measuring from the first day of the month following an employee's Hire/Rehire Date (as entered on the Employment screen in the Employee File), enter First Day of Month. To begin measuring from an employee's Hire/Rehire Date, enter Start Date. Initially, First Day of Month will appear as the default but can be changed.
Note: If Start Date is specified in this field, a warning icon will appear to the right of the field, because the calculated stability period start date (which is the start date for health insurance coverage) for new hires will not always be on the 1st of a month.
In the Measurement Period (Months) field, enter the total number of months to initially measure the hours worked for the newly hired employees to determine if the employees are working full-time. The number must be from 3 to 12, as stipulated within the Affordable Care Act guidelines. Initially, 12 will appear as the default but can be changed.
Enter the number of days or months used to administer the health insurance benefits for the newly hired employees (the time in which the benefits are offered and set up for the newly hired employees) in the Administrative Period field. Then enter Days or Months in the field located just to the right of the Administrative Period field, or click the down-arrow button to select the correct one (initially, Months will appear as the default but can be changed). The number must be from 0 to 90 for days, or from 0 to 2 for months, as stipulated within the Affordable Care Act guidelines.
Note: The administrative period is the time between the measurement period and the stability period. The number of months in the measurement period plus the number of days or months in the administrative period cannot extend beyond the end of the 13th month after the Hire/Rehire Date for new employees. If Days is specified, a warning icon will appear to the right of the field, because the calculated stability period start date (which is the start date for health insurance coverage) for new hires will not always be on the 1st of a month.
The number of months the newly hired employees offered health insurance will be covered (enrolled) appears in the Stability Period (Months) field. The number displayed in this field is the number from the Stability Period (Months) field within the Ongoing Employees section, and this field cannot be changed.
Note: The fields in the New Hires section are disabled once a year of periods has been added (in the Measurement Periods List). If needed, delete the year in the Measurement Periods List by clicking the Delete button located to the left of the row to delete (and click Yes when prompted); then make the necessary changes to the above fields and then create the year again. A year can only be deleted if there is not any data entered for employees for it from within the Employee File.
5. If desired, to view a sample graphical diagram of the measurement, administrative, and stability periods for the ongoing and new employees as based on the specified information, click the Sample Timeline button. After viewing the sample timelines, make any necessary changes to the above fields if needed until the desired results are obtained.
6. Each year (including the first, second, and subsequent years) using the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Hours Tracking option, click the Add New Year button located above the Measurement Periods List to create the periods as based on the specified information. After clicking the button, the periods for the new year will appear in the Measurement Periods List. In the Service Break Weeks field (column), enter the number to use as the default for the weeks in the break in service for the employees (4 to 52), or enter 0 if there is not a break in service. For example, if the majority of the employees who will have their hours worked tracked within the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Hours Tracking option have the summer off, enter 12 in the Service Break Weeks field (column).
Tip: A break in service is defined within the Affordable Care Act guidelines as at least 4 consecutive weeks during which an employee is not working and is not credited with any hours of service (such as from vacation or sick leave, etc.), and is applicable for educational organizations only. When calculating the total hours per week average for a measurement period for an employee with a service break, an employer can either exclude the service break weeks in the computation, or treat the employee as credited with hours of service for the service break at a rate equal to the average hours per week rate when the employee was working, with a maximum of up to 501 hours of service credited for service break periods in a calendar year. The School Accounting System uses the second method of crediting hours of service for the service break, up to 501 hours of service.
Note: If the dates for a period in the first year are not correct, delete the year by clicking the Delete button located to the left of the row to delete (and click Yes when prompted); then make the necessary changes to the above fields and then create the year again. A year can only be deleted if there is not any data entered for employees for it from within the Employee File.
7. Click the Save button.