Although the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Actisn't new, this is the first year that the IRS is attempting to collect penalties from companies that didn'tshell out—for violations incurred in 2015.

But according to a reportin Modern Healthcare, they may have a fight on their hands. Thepenalty, which helps fund the ACA, is assessed if a company with atleast 50 full-time employees didn't offer minimum essentialcoverage to at least 70% of its workers and their dependents, andat least one employee was eligible for an advanced premium taxcredit.

In addition, companies that offered the option of a qualifiedplan to at least 70% of their full-time workers and theirdependents are also on the hook for the penalty if a full-timeemployee couldn't afford the offered plan and qualified for anadvanced premium tax credit.