The U.S. Treasury Department announced late Tuesday that it would give employers an additional year to comply with certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act, prompting rare praise of the Obama Administration by the National Retail Federation and other employer groups.

The Treasury Department said it would extend to Jan. 1, 2015 from Jan. 1, 2014 the deadline by which employers with more than 50 employees have to offer affordable health insurance options to their workers or face fines.

“We have heard concerns about the complexity of the requirements and the need for more time to implement them effectively,” Mark J. Mazur, the assistant secretary for tax policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury worte in a blog post late Tuesday. “We recognize that the vast majority of businesses that will need to do this reporting already provide health insurance to their workers, and we want to make sure it is easy for others to do so.  We have listened to your feedback.  And we are taking action.”

“We commend the Administration’s wise move to delay the employer reporting and penalty obligations under the Affordable Care Act” said Neil Trautwein, vice president and employee benefits counsel for NRF.
“This one year delay will provide employers and businesses more time to update their health care coverage without threat of arbitrary punishment.”
 
Trautwein said that the NRF had worked hard to engage and educate its members on the upcoming ACA requirements and consistently and empathetically called on the Administration to delay these specific regulations.

 
“We appreciate the Administration’s recognition of employer concerns and hope it will allow for greater flexibility in the future,” he said.
“NRF will continue to work with the Administration and Congress to ensure that health care reform implementation protects our members, small business owners and the broader business community.”