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Restaurant Chain Cuts Workers’ Hours Ahead of Health Reforms (CNBC)

Darden tests boosting the portion of its employees who work part-time.

October 10, 2012 • Reprints

Darden Restaurants, the $7.9 billion operator of such chains as Olive Garden and Red Lobster, is cutting workers’ hours in a few markets in the United States to test a move that could limit the impact of healthcare reform, according to CNBC.

The reforms enacted in 2010 require companies to provide healthcare coverage to full-time employees starting in 2014 or pay a penalty. Darden, 75% of whose workers are already part-time, is limiting employees to 28 hours a week in the test areas, which is less than the 30 hours a week the government has set as the definition for full-time employment.

See the full CNBC story here and coverage from the Orlando Sentinel here.