I think a better way to do it would be to basically cut the crap and target companies based on what they're obviously up to.
If a company has more than say X% of their workforce part-time (say between 10-30 hours/week, with <10 hour employees ignored in the denominator) for a period of Y years, every part-time worker gets full benefits, unless they are working another part-time job in a similar company, in which case they get benefits from one and the other will add their average employer contribution to their salary (this reduces uncertainty). Or, if they are working a full-time job (this is unlikely, except for a few businesses e.g. bars) or attending a university that offers healthcare, the requirement can be waived or some appropriate counterbalance can be devised.
The relaxation of labor laws for part-time work is intended to allow employers to efficiently deal with acute labor shortages, not maintain a firm of intentionally precarious and uninsured employees. An exception can be made for businesses which operate less than 30 hours per week, since they have no choice.
Granted, more systemic reforms would be nice, but this problem can be dealt with directly and harshly because it simply shouldn't happen.
If a company has more than say X% of their workforce part-time (say between 10-30 hours/week, with <10 hour employees ignored in the denominator) for a period of Y years, every part-time worker gets full benefits, unless they are working another part-time job in a similar company, in which case they get benefits from one and the other will add their average employer contribution to their salary (this reduces uncertainty). Or, if they are working a full-time job (this is unlikely, except for a few businesses e.g. bars) or attending a university that offers healthcare, the requirement can be waived or some appropriate counterbalance can be devised.
The relaxation of labor laws for part-time work is intended to allow employers to efficiently deal with acute labor shortages, not maintain a firm of intentionally precarious and uninsured employees. An exception can be made for businesses which operate less than 30 hours per week, since they have no choice.
Granted, more systemic reforms would be nice, but this problem can be dealt with directly and harshly because it simply shouldn't happen.