Davie is a substantial Broward County municipality — home to Nova Southeastern University and a mix of residential, commercial, and institutional development — with an architecture sector that reflects its position between Fort Lauderdale and Miramar. Kaller Architecture, founded in 1984 and now with more than 3,000 completed projects, is one of Davie's most established commercial and industrial architecture practices. Schachne Architects & Builders specializes in custom home design across Broward County, representing the residential tier of the Davie architecture market. Maurice Menasche AIA, operating at 12555 Orange Drive Suite 122, provides the independent licensed architect perspective that is common in Davie's boutique design market.
For these firms and others in the Davie area, managing part-time health benefits involves navigating the ACA's employer mandate rules — which affect large employers very differently from small ones — as well as the voluntary benefit structures that make sense for the Broward County architecture employment market. This guide covers both.
Davie's architecture market spans three primary segments. The residential custom home segment — represented by Schachne Architects & Builders — involves high-value projects in Davie's equestrian and suburban residential neighborhoods, typically with smaller firm sizes and intensive project-phase work by part-time specialists. The commercial and industrial segment — represented by Kaller Architecture's 40-year track record of commercial, retail, and industrial projects across South Florida — involves more predictable project cycles with defined phases where part-time architectural support roles are planned. The institutional segment ties to Nova Southeastern University and Broward County civic projects, generating periodic demand for part-time architectural staff in programming, design development, and construction administration support roles.
All three segments create part-time architectural employment. For the firms involved, benefit compliance is primarily a question of whether and how to offer voluntary health benefit access to these employees — since none of the identified Davie firms are near the 50-FTE ALE threshold.
The ACA employer mandate creates obligations only for Applicable Large Employers. For Davie architecture firms, the key question is whether the firm reaches 50 FTEs — a threshold most boutique and independent practices do not approach. The relevant ACA rules by firm size:
| Firm Size (FTE) | ACA Status | Part-Time Coverage Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50 FTE | Non-ALE | No mandate — voluntary benefit design only |
| 50+ FTE | ALE | Must offer coverage to 30+ hr/week employees; part-time (under 30 hrs) excluded from mandate |
| ALE with variable-hour staff | ALE — look-back applies | 12-month measurement period tracks average weekly hours |
A non-ALE Davie architecture firm has complete discretion over part-time health benefits. For the firm's licensed architect partners who may also be S-corp shareholders, the treatment of health insurance premiums is different: S-corp owner-employees (more than 2% shareholders) must include health insurance premiums in W-2 wages, which are then deductible on the personal return — a well-established but frequently mishandled tax treatment that applies separately from the firm's group benefit decisions.
QSEHRA for Davie firms under 50 FTEs without a group plan: A Davie architecture firm can establish a QSEHRA and set monthly reimbursement limits for part-time staff. The firm controls the total annual cost precisely (number of employees × monthly allowance × 12 months). Employees use reimbursements to pay premiums on ACA marketplace plans or other qualifying individual coverage. No carrier selection, no minimum group size, no actuarial review required.
ICHRA for firms with existing group coverage: Davie architecture firms that have a group health plan for principal architects can establish an ICHRA part-time class for support staff. A firm like Kaller Architecture, with a larger staff working on multiple concurrent commercial projects, might offer full-time draftspersons and project managers access to the group plan while offering part-time Revit technicians a $200–$300/month ICHRA allowance toward individual coverage.
Dental and vision-only group coverage: Davie's architecture employers competing for the same part-time talent pool as Fort Lauderdale firms can offer a meaningful benefit at low cost by providing group dental and vision coverage to part-time staff. This is particularly effective when part-time employees have health coverage through a spouse but have no dental access.
Florida Statutes §627.6692 creates a mini-COBRA obligation for Davie architecture firms with fewer than 20 employees that offer a Florida-issued group health plan. When a covered part-time architectural employee separates — whether due to project completion, voluntary resignation, or layoff — the firm must notify the insurer within 30 days. The insurer then notifies the employee of the right to elect 18 months of continuation coverage at the full group premium plus a 2% administrative fee.
For larger Davie architecture firms (20+ employees), federal COBRA applies with the same mechanics: 18-month continuation, full premium + 2% administrative fee, 30-day employer notice to plan administrator. The employer's obligation is to provide timely notice; the employee then has 60 days to elect continuation coverage.
Our licensed advisors help Davie architecture firm owners build QSEHRA, ICHRA, and group benefit structures suited to Broward County's western corridor and your firm's project-based staffing model.