The U.S. government has announced that the employer mandate, one of the most significant portions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), will not be enforced until 2015.

Under the provision, companies with 50 or more full-time employees would have faced fines of up to $3,000 per employee if they didn’t offer their employees affordable health insurance.

The one year delay is designed to accomplish two goals:

• Allow the government to consider ways to simplify the new reporting requirements consistent with the law
• Provide time to adapt health coverage and reporting systems while employers are moving forward with offering affordable coverage to their employees

Click here for more information directly from the Treasury Department’s website.