ACA Detailed Hour Requirements
Per the Affordable Care Act (ACA), “hours worked” include each hour for which an employee is paid or entitled to pay, including:
- Actual hours worked
- Paid Time Off
- Holidays
- Family and Medical Leave
- Disability Leave
- Jury Duty
- Military Duty
Faculty, Staff, and Working Retirees
Full-time faculty and staff are currently eligible for medical plan coverage that offers minimum coverage and is affordable.
- Departments must report hours for any additional work or secondary jobs.
- Non-exempt staff must record hours worked in Workday to track regular and overtime pay (Additional Compensation payments may only be requested for bonuses, gratuities, and commissions).
Departments must report hours to determine medical plan eligibility for Part-Time/Adjunct Faculty.
- Faculty must work no more than 30 hours per week, on average, given a credit hour equivalency, to maintain part-time/adjunct status. Per ACA guidance, Human Resources will assign 3.25 hours for each credit hour.
- Faculty may teach up to eight credit hours per academic semester for all Wake Forest Colleges combined.
- If faculty are not teaching classes, Human Resources will need hours worked for all stipends or research work. The salary will be paid in the months in which the work is performed.
Part-time staff and University-paid temporary staff must record hours worked in Workday to track regular and overtime pay, and to determine medical plan eligibility.
- Newly-hired individuals should be placed on the biweekly pay cycle to track hours worked.
- Departments utilizing staff from a temporary staffing agency should communicate the name of the agency and temporary staff member to Human Resources. Wake Forest may be considered the common-law employer, even if the employee is paid by an outside agency, and may be required to track hours and offer medical coverage.
Working retirees must record hours worked in Workday to track regular and overtime pay, and to determine medical plan eligibility.
- Retirees on Medicare should carefully decide if they wish to enroll in coverage, if offered, as there are penalties for delayed Medicare enrollment.
Student Employees
Hourly paid (undergraduate and graduate) student employees must record hours worked in Workday to track regular and overtime pay, and to determine medical plan eligibility.
- These individuals may hold multiple appointments, but the total weekly hours worked may not exceed the following (excluding Federal Work Study hours):
– 20 hours during the school year, or
– 30 hours during official University breaks and vacations - Weekly hours will be assigned for the following positions as follows, based on a detailed calculation of duties:
– Resident Advisors (undergraduate): 25 hours
– Graduate Hall Directors (graduate): 20 hours
Resident Advisors and Graduate Hall Directors must obtain approval from the Director of Residence Life and Housing before working another job on campus.
Weekly hours will be assigned for the following positions as follows, based on a detailed calculation of duties:
- Undergraduate: 30 hours, if actual hours worked are not submitted through a biweekly timecard in Workday.
- Graduate (e.g., Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, and Law Assistants): 15 hours
Graduate students must obtain approval from their academic advisor and the Graduate School before working another job on campus. The total weekly hours must not exceed 30.
Wake Forest University Human Resources
P.O. Box 7424, Winston-Salem, NC 27109
askHR@wfu.edu | P 336.758.4700 | F 336.758.6127