Which employer meets North Carolina's statutory definition of a small employer for health coverage purposes?

Why C is correct

G.S. 58-50-110(22) defines a small employer as one that, on at least 50% of its working days during the preceding calendar quarter, employed no more than 50 eligible employees. An eligible employee under G.S. 58-50-110(10) is a full-time employee whose normal workweek is 30 or more hours. Since 2014 the definition applies only to grandfathered group plans.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) The test looks at working days across the whole preceding quarter, not a single snapshot day.
• B) The measurement period is the preceding calendar quarter, not the entire year.
• D) The 30-hour workweek defines an eligible employee under G.S. 58-50-110(10), not a small employer.

Memory hook

Small employer = no more than 50 eligible employees on at least half the working days of the last quarter.

Why D is correct

Under G.S. 58-50-110(22) and (10), a small employer is one that employed no more than 50 eligible employees on at least 50% of its working days during the preceding calendar quarter. An eligible employee is a full-time employee with a normal workweek of 30 or more hours, and since 2014 the definition applies to grandfathered group plans under North Carolina insurance law.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) 18 is the maximum months of group continuation coverage under G.S. 58-53-35, not the small-employer headcount.
• B) 55 is the number of scored questions on the North Carolina licensing examination, not an employee threshold.
• C) 30 is the minimum hours in an eligible employee's normal workweek, not the maximum number of eligible employees.

Memory hook

Small employer = 50 heads or fewer, half the quarter's working days.