How many hours does a local government employee have to work before the employee becomes entitled to benefits?

With one exception, neither federal nor state law requires a local government employer to offer benefits. Instead, the employer may offer whatever benefits it chooses to its employees – on a fully paid, partially contributory or fully contributory basis.

There is no general legal definition of full-time or part-time employment. Because employers may offer benefits on whatever conditions they please, employers are free on their own to determine how many hours an employee must work before becoming eligible for benefits – although sometimes the terms of a group insurance policy chosen by the employer may dictate how many hours an employee must work before being entitled to participate in the particular benefit plan. It would not be surprising for one local government employer to offer benefits to employees working 20 hours or more and for a neighboring local government employer to set the bar at 30 hours.

The lone exception to the rule that a local government employer may do as it likes with respect to benefits is found in the requirements for membership in the Local Government Employees Retirement System (LGERS). The North Carolina General Statutes require that a member jurisdiction enroll each employee whose regular job duties requires that employee to work at least 1,000 each year. So regardless of whether you classify the employee as “full-time” or “part-time,” if she or he regularly works 1,000 a year, the employee must be enrolled in the retirement system.