What is the definition of ‘full time?’

Q: How many hours must a retail employee work to be considered “full time?”

A: The answer is up to the employer to decide.

Neither federal or state law defines full-time or part-time employment. There is no law stating that individuals working a certain number of hours per week are considered full-time employees, and those working less than that are part-time employees.

Rather, employers create these definitions to best fit their work schedules and company benefits. Some employers consider any individuals who work 40 or more hours per week as full-time employees, while other employers set it lower, such as 35 hours.

Many companies, however, do specify how many hours an employee must work to be eligible for certain types of leave or other benefits. For example, you may have a policy that employees must regularly work a specific number of hours per week in order to be eligible for paid vacation time.

There are two main areas of law where the state and or federal government establish the standards for number of hours worked in relation to a benefit or requirement:

• Under federal law, employees who work more than 40 hours per week must be paid time-and-a-half unless they are in an exempt category.

• Under state law, if an employer offers a health insurance plan to his or her full-time employees, permanent eligible employees working at least 30 hours per week must also be offered insurance coverage.

Do you have a retailing question? Ask Michigan Retailers by e-mail: tscott2@retailers.com.