With the obligations and penalties of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka, Obamacare) set to take effect in 2014, many employers have begun evaluating the use of “contingent” workers as a strategy for containing healthcare costs.

Contingent workers—such as independent contractors, leased employees, and part-time employees—typically are not entitled to healthcare coverage, and their expanded use could offer businesses a way around some of the new law’s costlier requirements.

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