Restaurants Face Unique Challenges Under Obamacare
The U.S. Department of Labor says 175,000 new jobs were created last month, but the unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth to 7.6.
Currently, almost 20 percent of American workers are working only part-time, a historic high. Those part-time workers will be able to get health coverage beginning next year under Obama's Affordable Care Act, but many business owners worry about how they'll pay for it.
Clyde's Restaurant Group is a family owned chain of 14 restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area. For half a century, Clyde's has been a meeting place for politicians and lobbyists — like those who passed this very legislation — to meet over drinks away from Capitol Hill.
Restaurants will face particular challenges. Most restaurant employees work for low wages, supplemented by tips, leaving owners to pay a larger portion of premiums to make health care affordable. At Clyde's, about three-fourths of the staff is under the age of 26, and may not feel that they need coverage.
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