Beginning in 2014, large employers may face penalties if they do not

offer any health coverage to full-time employees, or if they offer

health coverage that is unaffordable or does not provide minimum

value. The penalty is known as a "shared responsibility payment,"

and is triggered if one of the employer's full-time employees receives a premium tax credit or cost sharing reduction for coverage obtained through a health insurance exchange.

On Aug. 31, 2012, the IRS issued Notice 2012-58, which describes

safe harbor methods and rules that employers may use to determine

which employees are considered fulltime for the purposes of the

Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s shared responsibility provisions.

This notice also addresses a safe harbor based on Form W-2 wages

for employers to use in determining whether their health coverage is affordable. Employers will not be required to comply with any future guidance that is more restrictive until at least January 2015.