Under what conditions would an employer not meet the Full Time Equivalent (FTE) requirement?

The Full Time Equivalent (FTE) requirement is a standard used to measure workforce size by combining the hours worked by part-time employees into a full-time equivalent. For an employer to meet this requirement, typically, employees must work a minimum of 30 hours per week to be considered full-time.

When an employer does not fulfill this standard—specifically when employees work less than 30 hours per week—the total hours contributed by these workers do not equate to the number necessary to fulfill FTE criteria. Thus, less than 30 hours of work per week results in a lack of sufficient hours to account for full-time equivalents, leading to a failure to meet the FTE requirement.

In contrast, while seasonal employees and unpaid internships can present unique challenges or variations in full-time calculations, they do not inherently prevent an employer from meeting FTE requirements as long as the working hours meet specified minimums. Similarly, employing individuals who work part-time but collectively exceed the equivalent of a full-time employee may still satisfy the FTE need.