Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Restaurant Chain Cuts Hours of Full Time Workers Because of ObamaCare

The American Thinker has;
Sign Of The Times: Chain Cuts Hours of Full Time Workers Because of ObamaCare
Rick Moran (Oct 10, 2012)

The restaurants affected - Red Lobster and Olive Garden - are owned by Darden Restaurants and the company says they will "test" the new employment strategy in 4 markets.
But you can bet they aren't the only company that will be looking at this option.
Darden Restaurants declined to give details but said the test is only in restaurants in four markets across the country. The test entails increasing the number of workers on part-time status, meaning they work less than 30 hours a week. Under the new health care act, companies will be required to provide health care to full-time employees by 2014. That would significantly boost labor costs for businesses.
About 75 percent of Darden's employees are currently part-timers.
Bob McAdam, who heads government affairs and community relations for Darden, said the company is still learning from the tests, which was first reported by The Orlando Sentinel.
"We're not at a point where we have results," he said. McAdam also noted that Darden is not alone in looking at ways to keep labor costs in check, with companies industry wide prepping for the new regulations to take effect.
Darden, based in Orlando, Fla., has made cost cutting a priority in recent years as sales growth and traffic have stalled at its flagship chains. In the most recent fiscal quarter, the company's restaurant labor costs were 31 percent of sales. That's down from 33 percent three years ago.
The reduction was driven by several factors. Given the challenging job market, Darden has been able to offer lower pay rates to new hires. Bonuses for general managers have been reduced as sales have stagnated. Servers at Red Lobster are handling four tables at a time, instead of three.
A record 8 million Americans are working part time. Someone suggested we start referring to President Obama as a "Part Time President" - it fits. Retail outlets especially will be looking at creating more part time workers by either cutting hours of current full time employees or hiring more part time employees.
Profit margins at retailers are so razor thin that any large increase in the cost of doing business is either going to bankrupt them, or force them to make other employment decisions. This is Obama's legacy if he is defeated and his execrable health insurance reform outlasts him.


Thank You American Thinker and Mr Moran


"Execrable" 

That's certainly One word for it.

So when can we expect Hospitals and Government Health Care providers to switch over to making all of Their Doctors and Nurses part time employees in order to beat ObamaCare compliance costs?

CNSnews has;

Unemployement Rate Plumets To 4.3%: For Government Workers
By Terence P. Jeffrey

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