Human Resource Blog

Benefits Question

	Benefits
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I am currently working Part Time for a Dance Studio in Massachussets. They have only been open for a little over a year and they have one employee other than myself and he is only there once a week. They would like me to come on board full time and I would love to. My only hesitation is that they do not know when they will be able to offer me Medical Insurance benefits. I have been with this company for almost 10 months with a Part Time status so I haven’t needed anything from them. Is it legal for them to have me work full time without having benefits?

Yes, it’s legal for any employer to hire someone full time and not offer health insurance benefits. There is no state or federal law that any employer must offer health insurance to any worker. Health insurance has become such a widespread benefit that we often forget that it’s entirely voluntary for employers to offer it.

You should consider this factor seriously before accepting the full-time position. It’s almost impossible for an employer to offer affordable “group” health insurance when there is only one full-time employee. In this case, “We don’t know when we’ll be able to offer you health insurance” probably means “not in this lifetime.” If you do accept this position, you should negotiate a large enough salary that you can pay the $300 to $600 monthly premium for private health insurance. (If you are married, another option would be for your spouse to add you to his or her insurance as a dependant.)

BTW — The majority of uninsured Americans are actually employed, so your dilemma is not at all unusual.