Dive Summary:
- Home improvement megastore The Home Depot plans to cut healthcare benefits for some 20,000 part time store associates that work fewer than 30 hours per week, according to details released by Bloomberg and published by Chain Store Age.
- Beginning in October, employees who meet the criteria will need to seek healthcare coverage through government-sponsored healthcare exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act.
- The announcement comes as Trader Joe's recently announced it would take similar action, and no longer provide health benefits to part-time employees, opting to offer a $500 stipend to purchase new coverage.
From the article:
Home Depot executives are quoted in the Bloomberg article as saying part-time employees will still be offered dental, vision, critical illness, disability and back-up dependent care benefits. The retailer said whether part-time employees wind up paying more or less for health care will depend on what coverage they purchase, but full-time employees will pay more next year due to rising costs.