Isidore Farish of Emerson used public comment time to propose a payroll surcharge on large employers that hire workers as part-time to avoid employer health-insurance obligations under the Affordable Care Act.

Farish said some large employers convert full-time positions into multiple part-time roles, which he argued shifts healthcare and assistance costs to state and county programs such as Medicaid and food assistance. He suggested a payroll tax or surcharge on part-time wages at companies above a certain size to recapture some of those costs for the county. “Basically, a payroll tax to the employers for part time only, only above a certain size company,” Farish said.

He also said some employers with variable weekly schedules limit employees’ ability to take a second job, a practice he described as compounding the economic effect on workers. Farish named large retailers as examples but did not provide a specific threshold, tax rate, or legal mechanism for implementation.

The comment occurred during the public-comment period; no commissioner action, staff report, or legal analysis was recorded at the meeting.