1. An all-or-nothing catch
Operators with fewer than 50 full-time-equivalent employees are getting burned for trying to do right by their staff, says Amador. Some were refunding employees’ heath care costs without offering formal coverage, and the IRS balked. If restaurants offer any subsidized health care, the IRS demands they meet all of the ACA requirements. “That is a new one that is affecting a group that, up until now, thought they weren’t impacted,” he says.