IRS moves forward with health law's employer mandate

By Sam Baker - 12/28/12 06:11 PM ET

The IRS moved forward Friday on implementing the employer mandate in President Obama's signature healthcare law, which requires most businesses offer health benefits to their workers.

The tax agency published a 144-page regulation Friday to begin formally implementing the mandate.

Businesses that don't offer insurance will have to pay a penalty of $2,000 per person per year if more than 30 employees receive government subsidies to help them buy insurance.

The coverage employers provide also must be "affordable" — meaning it can't cost a single worker more than 9.5 percent of his or her income. The same standard does not apply to family policies.

Since the healthcare law passed, several large companies — including foodservice giants such as Papa John's, Olive Garden and Red Lobster — have suggested they might cut employees' hours so they won't have to provide insurance.

But the company that owns Olive Garden and Red Lobster recently abandoned that possibility, saying the negative publicity had hurt earnings and that the company would be able to afford to comply with the new mandate.