Part-time possibilities

Q. How many hours can an associate work and still be considered part-time? Do on-call hours count?

"In my opinion, a full-time employee works 35 hours per week or more," says Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member Dr. Karen Felsted, CPA, MS, CVPM, a consultant at Brakke Consulting Inc. in Dallas. Practices distinguish between full- and part-time employees for holidays, vacation time, pet-care benefits, and so on. Yet some benefit plans may define things differently. "Your health insurance carrier may consider everyone who works over 30 hours per week a full-time employee eligible for insurance," she says. "Obviously for those plans, you need to use their definition."

"The question of on-call hours can be tricky, and I think the answer depends on where the employee has to be while on call," she says. "If the associate sits in the hospital and waits, like an overnight doctor at an emergency clinic, then I consider those work hours. If there aren't any patients, he can sleep or read, but he's confined to the premises.

"If the employee's off work and outside of the building, but carrying a phone or pager, I don't consider the down hours as work. Only when he's actually working, either on the phone or in the hospital treating a patient, would I count those hours." Check with your benefit plan provider and an attorney because the issue varies by state.

Dr. Karen Felsted