New ACA Rule Employs Government Intimidation Tactic

Delays in the Affordable Care Act are becoming more the rule than the exception, the latest of which delays until 2016, the employer mandate for companies with 50 to 99 employees.

This delay allows employers to figure out what changes they might need to make to their business operations in order provide health coverage as required by the law, or avoid penalties if they do not.

But they better be careful with any changes to their workforce. The IRS is watching.

The delay, announced Monday, also brought with it a host of final regulations on the ACA’s “employer shared responsibility” provisions, including one that should send shivers down the spine of every job creator in this country – If you want to cut your workforce next year, you have to swear to the IRS it was not because of the ACA:

“Businesses that employ between 50 and 99 full-time workers have until 2016 to comply with the employer mandate to provide health insurance. Those that claim the exemption for 2015 will need to certify under penalty of perjury that they did not reduce their workforce to fewer than 100 employees in order to qualify.”

It’s bad enough the new federal health law forces America’s small and medium-sized businesses make tough decisions that affect their employees’ paychecks, hours and families. Now, many business owners cannot even tell the truth about these decisions without fear of punishment.

Our policymakers must not allow this new low for the ACA. Instilling fear into the hearts of job creators is no way to jump start a stalled economy.