By Susan Duclos
Another day, another company facing a massive loss of profits are forced to cut their workers' hours in order to stay in business, all because of Obamacare.
Today it is Wendy's in the news:
A fast-food chain is slashing employee hours so franchise owners don't have to pay health benefits. Hundreds of local Wendy’s workers have learned their hours are being cut. The owner says a new health care law is to blame.
“Thirty-six to 37 hours a week.” That's how many hours T.J. Growbeck works at the 84th and Giles Wendy's restaurant. The money he earns helps him pay for the basics, but that’s not the case for all his co-workers. “There are some people doing it trying to get by.”
The company has announced that all non-management positions will have their hours reduced to 28 a week. Gary Burdette, vice president of operations for the local franchise, says the cuts are coming because the new Affordable Health Care Act requires employers to offer health insurance to employees working 32-38 hours a week. Under the current law they are not considered full time and that as a small business owner, he can't afford to stay in operation and pay for everyone's health insurance.
Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, have already started cutting workers' hours for the same reason. Papa Johns, the owner of some Denny's restaurants, and many, many others have all been forced to take steps or are planning to take steps, to stay competitive and profitable and all cite Obamacare as the reason. Colleges also have cut hours to control costs, and yes, again, citing Obamacare.
Via Bloomberg:
Preliminary data from another study of employers that have 10 to more than 500 employees, the 2012 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, predicts that the average per-employee cost of health coverage will rise about 6.5 percent in 2013 and that 58 percent of employers surveyed plan to shift costs to their employees to reduce the increase, says George Lane, principal at Mercer, the human resource consulting company that conducts the annual survey.
The ramifications of Obamacare are not even being felt yet and we see the U.S. becoming a nation of part time workers and now those workers, many of which are barely making ends meet, will either have to get a second part time job to cover the costs of living, or they will now qualify for some type of welfare benefits which will be paid by other taxpayers.
Business owners create companies to make money and no one in their right mind is going to believe that when big government makes decisions that are going to effect the bottom line, their profits, they are simply going to sit back and eat those costs.
If they did, it would be a horrible business decision and companies do not keep their doors open by making bad business decisions.
These workers who are having their hours cut probably won't be making enough to join the other 77 percent of American workers who are seeing their payroll taxes rise, but it is doubtful they are seeing that as a benefit as they try to figure out how to pay their bills.