News Restaurants

President Obama's re-election means that health care reform is here to stay.  What that means to restaurants is anybody's guess but it is certainly making operators nervous.  With the new health care reform scheduled to go into effect in 2014 it means coverage expanding benefits and new costs to the industry.  The one thing they all agree on is that they will have to pass the costs of insuring their workers to you their patrons in the form of higher menu prices.  The key provision of the new regulation is for employers to offer more expensive health care to their full time employees or pay a government penalty.  All employees averaging more than 30 hours a week will be considered full time employees.  Some restaurants are contemplating making all their employees "part time" by not letting them average over 30 hours a week.  Probably not what the government had in mind but industry heavyweights Darden who own brands such as Red Lobster and Olive Garden are already looking to implement making fewer employees full time.  Right now nobody knows exactly how Obmacare will impact restaurants but they all fear the unknown costs.