#ObamaCare Employer Mandate Pushed Back for Second Time

For a second I thought this was the individual mandate, but we're talking small businesses. The delay's been in the works, and no doubt there'll be more rollbacks to come.

At Instapundit, "THE LAW IS WHAT WE SAY IT IS, NOT SOME DUMB PAPER THAT PASSED CONGRESS:

The Obama administration on Monday announced it is delaying the employer mandate in ObamaCare until 2016 for some businesses.

This delay in the mandate — the second so far — would only apply to businesses with between 50 and 99 employees, who would have until January 2016 to decide whether to offer insurance to their employees or pay a penalty. Businesses would also be barred from cutting their workers in order to fall under the threshold.

The employer mandate, a cornerstone of the healthcare reform law, was initially set to take effect in January, but the administration announced in July that companies would have until January of 2015 to comply.

A senior Treasury Department official stressed that the new language on the mandate was not meant to influence decisions about hiring or downsizing.

“We’re not trying to interfere with what the business necessities might be,” he said.

The new rules clarify the definition of a 30-hour-work week, the basis for how the law counts full-time employees. Treasury said the changes are meant to give companies more flexibility by them allowing to average employee hours over the course of an entire year as they tally their worker counts.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused Obama of "rewriting law on a whim."

"If the administration doesn’t believe employers can manage the burden of the [healthcare] law, how can struggling families be expected to?" Boehner said in a statement.

"This continued manipulation by the president breeds confusion and erodes Americans' confidence in him and his healthcare law. We need fairness for all, with relief from ObamaCare for every American."

RTWT.

At this point it's a wonder the Democrats even passed this monstrosity in the first place. Lord knows a good chunk of the leftist congressional bastards would take it all back if they could, the damned fools.

Added: An entire thread at Memeorandum.