Bloomberg: Home Depot cutting health benefits for 20,000 part-timers

Atlanta – The Home Depot, Inc. is reportedly going to stop providing health care benefits to part-time employees working less than 30 hours per week. According to Bloomberg, starting next month the retailer will send about 20,000 part-time employees to purchase their own insurance on government-sponsored healthcare exchanges that will be created under the guidelines of the Affordable Care Act.



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 heatlh care will depend on what coverage they purchase, but full-time employees will pay more next year due to rising costs.



Trader Joe's recently announced it will stop providing health benefits to part-time employees as of January 2014, although the retailer is offering them a $500 stipend to help purchase new benefits on the exchanges.