The number of hours an employee must work to be considered full-time and eligible for employee benefits such as health insurance, paid time off (including vacation leave and sick leave), and retirement accounts (401k and related employer-contributions) is generally in the sole discretion of the employer. This is because an employer is not obligated to provide these employee benefits or fringe benefits to any employee, whether full-time or part-time.

For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. And whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time does not change the application of the FLSA—or the application of the Service Contract Act (41 US.C. §351) or the Davis-Bacon Act wage and fringe benefit requirements (40 U.S.C. §3141).

In Colorado, as in other states, the definition of full-time employment and the eligibility for employee benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and retirement accounts are typically determined by the employer. There is no specific number of hours that universally qualifies an employee as full-time across all employers. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) do not define full-time or part-time employment, which means they do not mandate a certain number of hours for an employee to be eligible for benefits. Similarly, the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act focus on wage and fringe benefit requirements for certain types of contracts and do not dictate full-time or part-time employment status. Therefore, in Colorado, it is up to each employer to establish their own criteria for full-time status and the provision of benefits. Employers may, however, be subject to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has specific provisions regarding the provision of health insurance to full-time employees, generally defined under the ACA as those working 30 or more hours per week.