Under the small-employer provisions of the Code of Virginia, what weekly work threshold makes an employee an eligible employee for coverage purposes?

Why C is correct

Va. Code § 38.2-3431 defines an eligible employee as one who works or is paid for at least 30 hours of work each week. That threshold drives who counts for coverage purposes under the small-employer framework that the Virginia Bureau of Insurance administers. Hours below the threshold take the worker outside the eligible-employee definition.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) A 20-hour threshold understates the statutory line of 30 hours per week under Va. Code § 38.2-3431.
• B) A 25-hour threshold is not the statutory measure; the eligible-employee line is 30 hours per week.
• D) A 35-hour threshold overstates the statutory line; 30 hours per week suffices under Va. Code § 38.2-3431.

Memory hook

Thirty hours a week makes the employee eligible under Virginia's rules.

Why B is correct

Va. Code § 38.2-3431 defines an eligible employee as one who works on average 30 or more hours per week, and the small-employer head count is built from those eligible employees over the preceding calendar year. Independent contractors, informal unpaid helpers, and job candidates who were never hired are not employees of the employer for this test. Getting the count right matters because the 1-to-50 band determines whether the employer's medical plan falls under Virginia's small-employer availability and renewability protections.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) An independent contractor is not an employee of the company, so contractors do not enter the small-employer count under Va. Code § 38.2-3431.
• C) An informal helper who is not carried as an employee on the employer's records is not part of the statutory head count.
• D) A candidate who was interviewed but never hired was never an employee at all.

Memory hook

30 hours a week makes the count; contractors and ghosts don't.