IRS Regulations Verify More People Doomed to Part Time Employment, says Crown's Chuck Bentley

ATLANTA, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New regulations issued recently by the IRS prove that Crown Financial Ministries CEO Chuck Bentley was right when he wrote earlier this year that the economic circumstances developing as a result of Obamacare's passage could doom a nation of potential employees to part-time work.

"Plagued by fears of explosive costs from mandated healthcare, companies are quietly transitioning much of the American workforce into a nation of part-time employees," Bentley noted earlier this year in a piece at FoxNews.

Writing at the Washington Post this week, economic expert Robert Samuelson agreed, noting that the confusing new IRS regulations provide employers with many incentives for keeping workers at part-time status and for reducing the number of hours they work.

"Just recently, the Internal Revenue Service issued an 18-page, single-spaced notice explaining how to distinguish between full-time and part-time workers under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). The difference matters, because the ACA requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health insurance for those workers. At the same time, no company has to buy insurance for part-time employees, defined as those working less than 30 hours a week," Samuelson wrote.

He went on to note: "The problem isn't small. In September, 34 million workers, about a quarter of total workers, were part-time, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). But the BLS defines part-time as less than 35 hours a week; Obamacare's 30 hours a week was presumably adopted to expand insurance coverage. There are now 10 million workers averaging between 30 and 34 hours a week. To the BLS, they are part-time; under Obamacare, they're full-time."

And so to be safe and avoid higher costs, employers would have an incentive to reduce the hours of their hourly workers who desperately need the work, said Bentley. This would be a blow especially to lower income Americans and those working in service industries like in retail or restaurants.

The late Larry Burkett, Crown founder and author of "The Coming Economic Earthquake," predicted in 1991 that if the government ever nationalized health care it would be a deathblow to the nation's economy.

"If left unchanged, the current policy may cost a generation of lost workers the full-time jobs and careers they need," said Bentley.

To address the problems of finding and holding on to profitable work, Crown has developed Career Direct, an innovative evaluation tool for finding a path forward even in difficult times. To learn more, go to: http://www.careerdirectonline.org.

Crown, a non-profit, helps people and businesses integrate their values into business practices, debt reduction, and financial decision-making. For more than 35 years, Crown has been offering economic analysis and advice based on timeless truths. Theirs is a strong, international grassroots organization with offices in the U.S. and overseas. Crown experts work one on one with individuals and business leaders, as well as through workshops and seminars, teaching people how to build on a strong foundation that includes the business principles and practices found in the Bible. It is well known for its cutting edge materials first developed by its founder, the late Larry Burkett.  For more information, go to www.crown.org or call 800-722-1976

SOURCE Crown Financial Ministries