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 Montana, as in other states, there is no specific legal definition for full-time employment in terms of the number of hours worked that would make an employee eligible for benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and retirement accounts. The determination of full-time status is typically at the discretion of the employer. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) do not define full-time or part-time employment, which means that the provision of benefits is not mandated by these laws and does not affect their application. Similarly, the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act, which pertain to wage and fringe benefit requirements for certain types of government contracts, do not alter the employer's discretion in defining full-time employment for the purpose of benefit eligibility. Therefore, in Montana, employers have the flexibility to establish their own criteria for full-time status and the corresponding eligibility for employee benefits.