legality og hiring 10 part time employees rather than 5 full time employees to avoid paying benifits

I'm afraid you won't like the answer to your question. There is no law that requires an employer in the private sector to provide benefits to employees. Generally, an employer can decide whether to offer benefits, what benefits to offer, and to whom the employer offers them. There are restrictions that prevent an employer from limiting benefits to employees BECAUSE OF their race, religion, disability, sex, age (40 and over), national origin, pregnancy, genetic history, and in some states, because of their sexual orientation or marital status. Also, an employer is free to define "full-time" and "part-time" as it wishes. There are no laws in the private sector that designate any particular number of hours as full-time or part-time. Given this, the employer can define employees as part-time even if they work the same number of hours as full-time, and limit benefits to those employee the employer has defined as full-time. If, however, there is a company policy that defines all employees who work a certain number of hours as full-time, you may be eligible for that classification. But language can be tricky. For example, a policy that says "All full-time employees work 40 hours per week" is not the same as "All employees who work 40 hours per week are full-time." Also, if your job is covered by a contract between a union and the employer, or if you have an individual contract, the employer must comply with the terms of that contract. It isn't fair and it isn't good social policy. But it is legal. I hope your situation resolves. I wish you the best. ** No attorney-client relationship is created based on this communication. Please consult with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible to better preserve your rights.**These comments are for information only and must not be taken as legal advice. The Spencer Law Firm has not analyzed the details of your potential claim. The Spencer Law Firm cannot and does not give legal advice based on contacts from web sites or e-mail, or based on partial information. The Spencer Law Firm will not take any action on your behalf unless you and The Spencer Law Firm sign a legal services agreement.All legal actions have time limits, called statutes of limitation. If you miss the deadline for filing your claim, you will lose the opportunity to pursue your case. Deadlines can be as short as just a few days. For referrals, you may contact the Lawyer Referral Service of the San Diego County Bar Association at (619) 231-8585, or the county bar association for your county. Also, you can find lists of plaintiffs employment attorneys at , , and .

posted by Marilynn Mika Spencer  |  May 5, 2013 09:29 AM [EST]