Olive Garden and Red Lobster are using a sneaky trick to prevent their employees from qualifying for health insurance coverage. They are giving them just under the number of hours that would allow the worker to qualify for health insurance coverage. That number also exempts the company from covering them.
It is absolutely imperative that people have health insurance coverage. In the United States, lack of coverage results in putting off preventative care until an avoidable condition becomes very serious. This is exactly what causes people to file for bankruptcy due to medical bills that they cannot afford to pay.
Unfortunately, some companies are choosing to “play politics” by refusing to cover their workers with health insurance, and then blaming this choice on the Affordable Care Act, (also called “Obamacare”). In August of 2012, John Schnatter, the CEO and founder of Papa John’s Pizza, got in the news for the following statement:
“We are not supportive of Obamacare, like most businesses in our industry. If Obamacare is in fact not repealed, we will find tactics to shallow out any Obamacare costs and core strategies to pass that cost onto consumers in order to protect our shareholder’s best interests”.
It was quickly pointed out by many, all across the internet, that customers would be happy to pay an extra 11 cents to 14 cents for a pizza if it meant that Papa John’s employees would receive health insurance coverage.
Now, Olive Garden and Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse have decided to “play politics” instead of offering their workers health insurance coverage. All these restaurants belong to the same parent company, Darden Restaurants Inc., which explains why they are both making the same choices at the same time.
These restaurants are no longer offering full-time work schedules to employees in a “select number” of restaurants in four markets across the country. Darden said in a statement that employees at restaurants where this pilot program was put in place will be limited to 28 hours a week.
Why? It is because Darden Inc. doesn’t want to have to pay for health insurance coverage for its employees. Limiting the total number of hours a worker receives is an easy way for the company to avoid allowing those employees to qualify for health insurance coverage.
In 2014, the health insurance exchanges will be up and running. Companies that have more than 50 employees will be required to provide health insurance to all employees that are working over 30 hours a week. Those that fail to do so will be fined $3,000 per employee who is not covered by health insurance.
Darden Inc., is robbing its employees of health insurance coverage. The workers are just under the required amount of hours that would require Darden Inc. to offer health insurance coverage, or to pay a fine for choosing not to do so. I feel really bad for the workers who are getting the short end of the stick in this deal. When companies make choices like this, it makes me decide that I don’t want to support them by spending money there.
Image by Taylor Burnes on Flickr