Despite the health care overhaul, staffing companies like mine are hiring more than ever. But if the law goes into full effect, it will put us out of business.
Understanding why is sort of a conundrum. The listed number of ITAC employees hides how small we actually are. Only about 40 people work at ITAC, but we cut checks for the other 300 who we employ as "temps" for nearby companies, such as banks and manufacturers.
Those companies approach ITAC when they want to fill part-time or full-time positions for a few months but not take on the employees themselves. That technically means those employees are ours.
Under the new employee mandate starting in 2014, we'll be forced to offer coverage for everyone. But my clients will not allow me to charge enough to cover that type of insurance payment. They're accustomed to our current model, in which most who work in the temp industry buy their own insurance or go without it.
Last year, we provided nearly 800 workers. If I really would have had to cover all of them, I wouldn't be able to. Paying the $2,000 fine per employee would cost me $1.6 million.
ITAC will keep hiring for now, though. We can't hold back because we're responding to the demand we have. Our product is people. I can't fill these jobs myself.
We asked 10 small businesspeople the one thing they'd ask President Obama to do to make it easier for them to hire.
