Thanks to Obamacare Restaurant Workers Are Working Less/Losing Their Jobs

[red states rule]

To those of you who voted for Obama, I make sure to let your waiter/waitress know that when you go out to eat next time. I am sure they will want to express their gratitude to you for the reduction in work hours, and lost income. Thanks to you they are getting a Super Sized serving of Hope and change






President Obama's health-care plan was supposed to help uninsured minorities, but it's actually hurting them. One restaurant chain after another is cutting full-time slots to avoid ObamaCare.


Earlier this week, the owner of Red Lobster and Olive Garden announced it's shifting to more part-time staff to offset the cost of complying with the new employer health mandate. Minorities account for 42%, or more than 75,000, of Darden Restaurants' work force.


The Orlando-based company, which also owns LongHorn Steakhouse, runs more than 2,000 restaurants generating some $8 billion in sales.
"Today we offer health care to all of our employees," Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said. But under ObamaCare, which requires comprehensive coverage at low deductibles, "we can't offer that."


Restaurants like Red Lobster operate on razor-thin profit margins and are more affected than other companies by increases in labor costs. Because part-time workers are not required to be covered under the law, many restaurant chains are cutting back hours for workers.

"Many in the industry are worried that our slim profits per employee will not be sufficient to cover the additional cost" of ObamaCare, said Jamie Richardson, spokesman for hamburger chain White Castle.


Earlier this year, White Castle and McDonald's said they were looking at shrinking the number of workers they employ full-time to avoid the costlier government-imposed health benefits.


And IBD has learned that Spartanburg, S.C.-based Denny's also plans to put more workers on part-time status ahead of the new employer mandate that takes effect Jan. 1, 2014.


Of all industries, ObamaCare hits the restaurant industry hardest. This a major concern because restaurants employ almost 10% of the nation's workers — and a disproportionate share of minorities.


Read More At IBD: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/101112-629082-obamacare-threatens-minority-hiring-restaurants.htm#ixzz2C5SNB633

[red states rule]

What a shocker! Prices are going up for food and jobs are being cut. And Obama has not even started his second term yet.
Just after Barack Obama earned a second term in the White House, Papa John's founder and CEO John Schnatter said the president's signature health-care reform law would increase his business costs and possibly result in employees' hours being cut.
Schnatter, a part-time Naples, Fla., resident, made the comments Wednesday night inside a small auditorium at Edison State College's Collier County campus. In August, he made national headlines after telling shareholders the Affordable Care Act -- commonly known as Obamacare -- would result in a 10- to 14-cent increase for customers buying a pizza.
"I got in a bunch of trouble for this," he told the students. "That's what you do, is you pass on costs. Unfortunately, I don't think people know what they're going to pay for this."
Schnatter, a Mitt Romney supporter and fundraiser, said he was not "pro or against" the reform law but likened the government's involvement in health care to its operation of the U.S. Postal Service, saying "the worst entity in the world for running the thing is the government."
About a third of Papa John's employees are covered by the company's health insurance plan, although Schnatter said he has always wanted 100 percent of them on the plan. The rising costs of health insurance, he said, have been a deterrent.
"The good news is 100 percent of the population is going to have health insurance. We're all going to pay for it," he said, estimating the new law would cost the business $5 million to $8 million annually.
Under the Affordable Care Act, full-time employees -- those working 30 hours or more per week -- would have to be provided with insurance at companies with more than 50 workers. Schnatter said it was likely that some franchise owners would reduce employees' hours in order to avoid having to cover them.
"That's probably what's going to happen," he said. "It's common sense. That's what I call lose-lose."
Other than his comments on health care, Schnatter largely steered clear of politics. The 50-year-old said future entrepreneurs need to marry talent and passion in their endeavors, his being business-savvy and a love of pizza.


Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/political/papa-johns-ceo-john-schnatter-obamacare-likely-to-raise-costs-employees-hours-to-be-cut#ixzz2C5maz1YZ