What is an “eligible” employee?
As defined in the Rhode Island Small Employer Health Insurance Availability Act, Chapter 27-50-3(m): “Eligible employee” means an employee who works on a full-time basis with a normal work week of thirty (30) or more hours, except that at the employer’s sole discretion, the term shall also include an employee who works on a full-time basis with a normal work week of anywhere between at least seventeen and one-half (17.5) and thirty (30) hours, so long as this eligibility criterion is applied uniformly among all of the employer’s employees and without regard to any health status-related factor. The term includes a self-employed individual, a sole proprietor, a partner of a partnership, and may include an independent contractor, if the self- employed individual, sole proprietor, partner, or independent contractor is included as an employee under a health benefit plan of a small employer, but does not include an employee who works on a temporary or substitute basis or who works less than
