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Obamacare Already Having Adverse Effects

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by Rocketman1981, Oct 18, 2012.

  1. Rocketman1981

    Rocketman1981 Member

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    So waiters and waitresses in one of the largest restaurant chains in the country are limited in their hours they can work to under 30 because of the Affordable Care Act. So instead of working one job for 40-50 hours a week, an individual will have their hours cut and work 3 part time jobs and has no idea why?

    This is a prime example of this Administration's lack of understanding how laws, regulations and ideas are implemented and backfire against many of the people they are trying to help. As an example in France, its very difficult to fire people when they are permanent employees, so they fire them after a few months while they are still temporary in order to survive.



    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/09/darden-restaurants-obamacare-part-time_n_1951103.html

    Darden Restaurants Tests Hiring Of More Part-Time Employees To Avoid Obamacare Costs


    By CANDICE CHOI and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR 10/09/12 07:24 PM ET EDT


    NEW YORK -- The owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster restaurants is putting more workers on part-time status in a test aimed at limiting costs from President Barack Obama's health care law.

    Darden Restaurants Inc. declined to give details but said the test is only in four markets across the country. The move entails boosting the number of workers on part-time status, meaning they work less than 30 hours a week.

    Under the new health care law, companies with 50 or more workers could be hit with fines if they do not provide basic coverage for full-time workers and their dependents. Starting Jan. 1, 2014, those penalties and requirements could significantly boost labor costs for some companies, particularly in low-wage industries such as retail and hospitality, where most jobs don't come with health benefits.

    Darden, which operates more than 2,000 restaurants in the U.S. and Canada, employs about 180,000 people. The company says about 75 percent of its 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 across the industry prepping for the new regulations to take effect.

    In fact, Paul Keckley, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Statistics, noted that follow-up legislation might be needed to ensure that companies do not shift more workers to part-time status to avoid providing coverage.

    "There's not a company in those industries that aren't looking at this," Keckley said.

    This summer, for example, McDonald's Corp. Chief Financial Officer Peter Bensen noted in a conference call with investors that the hamburger chain was looking at the many factors that will impact health care costs, including its number of full-time employees.




    Nationally, 60 percent of companies offer health benefits, but the figure varies depending on the size of the company. Nearly all companies with 200 or more workers offer benefits, compared with 48 percent for companies with 3-9 workers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Even beyond health care costs, however, Darden has made cutting labor costs a priority in recent years as sales growth has 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, as well as cut bonuses for general managers as sales have stagnated. Servers at Red Lobster now handle four tables at a time, instead of three.

    And last year, the company also put workers on a "tip sharing" program, meaning waiters and waitresses share their tips with other employees such as busboys and bartenders. That allows Darden to pay more workers a far lower "tip credit wage" of $2.13, rather than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

    Starting next year, the company will change the way it offers health insurance to full-time employees, to keep costs more predictable. Instead of offering one insurance plan for all 45,000 employees, it will give workers a contribution toward buying coverage and then send them to an online health insurance exchange where they can chose from five medical, four dental and three vision plans.

    More employers are looking at this concept, known as defined contribution health insurance, as a way to stabilize health insurance costs.

    Darden said it decided to do it because a survey indicated that employees wanted more options.
     
  2. Ubiquitin

    Ubiquitin Contributing Member
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    Who else hopes all the poor people just die?
     
  3. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    It's always been less expensive to hire somebody for nearly full-time vs. full time. But now it's ALL PPCA'S FAULT!!!

    :rolleyes:
     
  4. thadeus

    thadeus Contributing Member

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    This isn't the result of Obamacare. This is the result of Olive Garden/Red Lobster choosing profit over people.

    It's funny that the idea of 'wealth' is so ingrained in the culture that people just view it as something natural - like a rainstorm, or a mountain that you just have to drive your wagon train around. It isn't that. It's the result of choices of individuals and boards of individuals. There's nothing 'natural' about it.
     
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  5. Major

    Major Member

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    And it will increase the number of people employed. At the end of the day, none of these people had or will have health care. And the same number of hours will be worked. Is 3 employees working 40 hours a week any better or worse than 4 employees working 30 hours a week?

    And why do people working 30 hours at a job instead of 40 now cause them to work 3 jobs in your new theoretical world? Are they working 90 hours a week now?

    These would be a far greater concern for employees - being asked to work more for less pay - and its completely unconnected to Obamacare.
     
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  6. RocketMan Tex

    RocketMan Tex Contributing Member

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    I didn't need another reason to avoid eating at Olive Garden and Red Lobster, but thanks for providing one anyway.....:grin:
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. Blurr#7

    Blurr#7 Contributing Member

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    Yeah but with Obamacare it will take much longer!!!!
     
  8. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    So, because an industry long infamous for exploiting low-skill workers will find a new permutation on how to make their jobs suck, we should not attempt to find a way to provide affordable, well-managed healthcare for anybody in the country? Is this the argument?
     
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  9. yo

    yo Contributing Member

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    [​IMG]
     
  10. BetterThanI

    BetterThanI Contributing Member

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    Well said. Repped.
     
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  11. QdoubleA

    QdoubleA Member

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    Great thread bro.
     
  12. Rocketman1981

    Rocketman1981 Member

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    I know most people here like to live in La La land, but businesses are around to make money. I'm sorry to break it to you but people don't buy Darden stock or open up a business to save the manitees.

    If you feel that strongly you should tip 100% if you're such a humanitarian and money means nothing to you.

    Added regulations like this affect peoples lives and not in the way that the Government intended because the current administration and all the damn lawyers in Congress and DC don't understand how business works, how jobs are created and what it will take to get this country going again.
     
  13. Rocketman1981

    Rocketman1981 Member

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    Aren't you studying medicine? Instead of billing medicare and working in a subsidized industry (6% of GDP is Government Spending in Healthcare, 9% is consumer spending) while complaining about not making enough, why don't you set up a free clinic? You could do rotations and make $50-$60 k year a few days a week and have a free clinic the rest of the time? Because your a typical fob and full of *****.

    Because like most of you people you can scream about unfairness, but what have you done to rectify it? Darden is at least offering employment to people and trying to serve food to people. It is their choice if they want to eat at or work in their company.
     
  14. Rocketman1981

    Rocketman1981 Member

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    Its another piece that makes it more efficient not to. You obviously don't understand tradeoffs very well.
     
  15. SamFisher

    SamFisher Contributing Member

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    No, but I understand which tradeoffs you will erroneously/misleadingly assign 100% causation to without having to read anything you post.
     
  16. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    If Darden can't generate enough revenue to provide enough compensation to provide a tolerable living for their employees (which includes provision for their health), I would literally prefer they didn't exist.
     
  17. Classic

    Classic Member

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    Well boys, stop eating at these places. Their food sucks anyways. I support locally owned and operated joints at this point almost exclusively.

    I'm tired of stupid conglomerate corporations whining about policy you know they really support.
     
  18. Johndoe804

    Johndoe804 Member

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    What you aren't realizing is that not all people who work for this company are making careers of these jobs. If you had your way, you'd be causing unemployment for the people who need jobs the most.

    On another note, I don't agree with employers justifying paying people that ~$2.00/hr wage due to tipping. People don't have to tip. Their justification is like saying that they don't have to pay their employees because their customers might pay them the difference between that wage and the federal minimum.
     
  19. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Contributing Member

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    According to Thadeus, its the peoples fault. According to his logic, profits should be banned. This should include people too. A person should only be allowed enough money to pay for bills and cheap food. The rest of it should go to taxes.

    Businesses exist for profit.
    People work for profit.

    High profits don't exist primarily because companies are greedy. High profits exist because people patronize the company. Need examples? Try Apple. Oil companies greedy? Look at all the trucks and SUV's on the road.

    People are just as greedy and self servicing as the corporations.
     
  20. QdoubleA

    QdoubleA Member

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    Did you just call him a fob?
    It is extremely clear that you do not understand anything about medicine. Your childish view of "Tip waiters 100% /become a doctor and work for cheap or SHUTUP" is nothing short of childish.
     
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