Effective for 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes "pay or play" requirements on large employers to encourage them to provide group health plan coverage for their employees. A large employer for this purpose is one that employed at least 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, on business days during the preceding calendar year.

Large employers that do not offer any health coverage to all full-time employees or that offer health coverage to their full-time employees that is either unaffordable or does not provide minimum value may be subject to penalties. The penalty is known as a "shared responsibility payment." The penalty is triggered if one full-time employee receives a premium tax credit or 

cost sharing reduction for coverage obtained through a health insurance exchange.