By October 1, 2013, employers must notify their employees of the availability of health coverage under the new health insurance exchanges established pursuant to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. All employers subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must provide this notice, regardless of whether the employer currently offers employee health coverage. In general, an employer is subject to the FLSA if it has at least two employees and an annual dollar volume of sales or business of at least $500,000, or is a hospital, business providing medical or nursing care for residents, school or government agency.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued model notices for employers to use in satisfying these requirements. A copy of the notice for employers that offer health coverage is available here and a copy of the notice for employers that do not offer health coverage is available here. Employers are free to modify the model notices provided that, as modified, they continue to satisfy the content requirements in DOL guidelines.

Employers must provide the notices to their existing full-time and part-time employees no later than October 1, 2013. Employees hired on or after October 1, 2013 must receive the notice no later than 14 days after their hire date. The notices may be provided by first class mail or electronically if the DOL's electronic disclosure rules are met.

Model COBRA Notice

Additionally, the DOL has updated its model COBRA notice for use by employers in notifying employees of their rights to continue coverage under the employer's health plan. The updated model notice contains information about the new health insurance exchanges. A copy of the updated model notice is available here.