Darden Restaurants Cut Workers' Hours to Avoid Paying Health Care Coverage

Opposing View ^ | 10/9/2012 | By Michael Allen

[tobyhill]

Darden Restaurants has stopped offering full-time schedules to many hourly workers in a few of its Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse eateries.

Darden is reportedly taking the action to avoid the Affordable Care Act, which is scheduled to go into effect in 2014, reports Fox 35 (video below). Under that law, also known as Obamacare, companies must provide affordable health insurance to employees working an average of at least 30 hours per week.

[tobyhill]

Obama has successfully downgraded America.

[New Jersey Realist]

I suppose this was “unexpected”

[Sgt_Schultze]

The only people who didn’t see this coming are democrats who support the law. They think employers are as stupid as democrats.

[MrB]

Indeed. Democrats/Socialists/Communists are the ultimate examples of the “Chess Piece Fallacy”...

They believe they can move the pieces around on the chess board at their whim, with no cost to the “game” (system/economy), and the pieces won’t move themselves in response.

[ltc8k6]

I thought they had a waiver...

http://newhampshire.watchdog.org/9255/restaurant-chain-partnering-with-white-house-anti-obesity-campaign-received-obamacare-waiver/

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

This darden guy is a big bamster supporter.Add those restaurants to the boycott list.

[Arm_Bears]

The CEO of Darden has been identified as a big Obama supporter on other threads.

Whether true or not, I ate my last meal with them long ago because their food is awful.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Democrats can be quite miserly when it's their ox being gored. Expect to see more of this. Too bad only the smart workers will place the blame where it belongs.

[Daveinyork]

Nothing like someone sticking to his principles

[csmusaret]

Walmart has been doing the same thing for years.

[Marathoner]

Damn, I really liked Longhorn (could care less about the other two).

Oh well, if the owner is a big Zero man, so long.

[COBOL2Java]

Once more, liberals show complete and total ignorance of the law of unintended consequences.

[P.O.E.]

Typical. Libs want laws and taxes for everyone else, but all of a sudden get all cheapskate when it comes to their own money.

[upchuck]

Darden: first of many.

Can’t blame them. This is a business decision in the best interest of the company’s owners, the shareholders.

It will be interesting to see the government’s reaction to this.

How lovely to live in a time when the government is proactive :)

[traderrob6]

And the inevitable flood of unintended consequences begins.

[upchuck]

Yes. It seems the people who put this stuff together never consider, “Okay how will be people being hurt by this modify their behavior to mitigate it?”

[DH]

What goes around comes around. A very true statement.

I would venture that the majority of these workers are Obama voters.

Now, they reap the rewards they earn for their political affiliation.

[sport]

The people who put this stuff together knew exactly what they were doing.They do not give a damn about the misery it causes. They only care about how much it will enhance their power.

[KarlInOhio]

Everyone acts like this was unexpected. Obamacare was set up to be unstable so that when the employer side collapsed the government could come back and say "We tried the free market. Now it is time for a true 'single payer' plan with all medical care going through the government."

[Hazwaste]

The Obama Plan to lower the unemployment rate.

1. Pass socialized medicine, forcing employers to pay for insurance for full-time employees.
2. Businesses convert full-time employees to part-time.
3. Business can afford to hire more employees, part-time, and must do so to meet business requirements.
4. Phony baloney unemployment rate comes down.
5. Obama saved us again.