Staying up on the changes to the Affordable Care Act can be tough as Washington figures out the best ways to implement the sweeping change to the nation’s healthcare systems. But Florida Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association recently released an alert to its members to help them understand two new changes to the act.

Regulations were released Feb. 10 that make some changes in the timing of the Affordable Care Act rules :

The employer responsibility provision will generally apply to larger firms with 100 or more full-time employees starting in 2015 and employers with 50 or more full-time employees starting in 2016. In other words, employers with fewer than 100 employees will not be subject to the penalty for not providing health care insurance until 2016.

In regard to seasonal employees, those in positions for which the customary annual employment is six months or less generally will not be considered full-time employees. This is a change from the previous rule which defined a seasonal employee as one who works for less than 120 days.

As the full extent of the latest rules are examined, FFVA's Labor Relations division will provide an updated analysis.

A ‘fact sheet’ released by the Treasury Department regarding the final regulations implementing the Employer Shared Responsibility Under the Affordable Care Act is posted here.

Additionally, the IRS has posted a question and answer document here.