(Bucca di Beppo) Orlando's Earl Enterprises cuts workers' hours, denies health-care link

[alp227]

Source: Orlando Sentinel

About 400 workers from Orlando-based Earl Enterprises, primarily in its Buca di Beppo restaurant chain, have had their hours cut to less than 30 a week across the country, founder Robert Earl acknowledged Monday.

The company is the first in Central Florida to reveal it is reducing some workers' hours to under 30 a week — the threshold at which employers will have to provide health insurance under "Obamacare." Still, Earl insisted the changes were not a response to health-care reform. Instead, he said, it's being done to hire more people.

Earl said in a brief interview that he did not know whether the reductions would affect his other chains, including Planet Hollywood and Earl of Sandwich.

"Our reason for the schedule (change) is the work force size," not health care, said Earl, adding that because of high industry turnover, the company wants more workers.

Read more: http://archive.is/o89TQ

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Oh knock that "work force size" BS off, Mr. Earl. I know what you're thinking. I'm crossing Bucca di Beppo off my eat-out list, maybe Planet Hollywood too. I've got better Italian restaurants in my area.

[savalez]

1. I don't go there anyway

but I sure as heck ain't going there now.

[LuckyLib]

2. Yet another business "cutting hours" to skip out on paying benefits.

These weasels never cease to amaze me. And his annual CEO salary would be how many millions?

[AtheistCrusader]

3. Aw man... They are much more affordable than Maggianno's.

Well, shit.

Most effective response: unionize.

[tofuandbeer]

4. Horrible place in more ways than one.

This restaurant gets my award for the worst tasting and most over-cooked pasta.

[kimbutgar]

24. Olive garden is the worst Italian food

I went to a Buca in Arizona my in laws raved about the food. Being from San Francisco I thought ok I'll give it a try. It was horrible. I'm not Italian and I make better Italian food from scratch. I'll be telling my in-laws to pass on Buca now.

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. cheesy cheesy pasta.

[CBHagman]

5. Not going back, then.

I've been once in this area. No more.

[Mojorabbit]

6. Here is their marketing email

[e-mail]

[tom_kelly]

18. Sent

I just read the article about your CEO cutting employee hours to under 30 per week and the phony explanation he gave. Never again will I eat at your restaurants. Why? First, because of the greed your CEO is displaying. Second, and more important to you, I don't want to eat where the employees unhappy, or even spiteful towards their management. You've probably eaten at such a place, where you can tell they don't like their jobs and you can never be sure what has happened to your food before it arrives at your table. But hey, I'm just one person. Anyway, good luck with the new business plan.

[silvershadow]

7. Someone should keep track of these so we can know the places to avoid. nt

[Major Nikon]

8. Their overpriced food sucks anyway

[jmowreader]

9. "Because of high industry turnover"

Yeah, right.

In the old days, employers who treated their staff like shit had one phrase tattooed on their foreheads: if you don't like it, there are ten people right outside the door just waiting for your job.

In the new modern era, they want to have some of the ten people already on the payroll, so they can just can your ass the second you bitch, pick up the phone and tell someone to get in here in the next fifteen minutes or they'll be joining Mary on the unemployment line.

Gee, dude, maybe if you weren't paying three fucking dollars an hour you wouldn't HAVE high industry turnover.

[Initech]

10. Another POS psuedo-Italian restaurant I can avoid eating at.

[Blue Owl]

11. Boooooooooocca

n/t

[xtraxritical]

12. All the employees should "sick out" immediately.

[Mira]

13. Huge crap - who buys it?

Not me.
I will NEVER eat there again. No matter how much I groove on the decor.
I can go in there and look around, and just be a general nuisance. Yes I will.

[snot]

14. I've got a simple solution that I never see mentioned by others:

Just pass a law that says employers must provide benefits to part-time workers that are the same as those for full-time, pro rated for the average hours worked. I.e., if a worker usually works 2/3 of the standard 40 hours full-time, the worker shd receive benefits equivalent to 2/3 of those received by full time workers.

It's not perfect, but should help.

[area51]

16. +1

But what Buca & others are doing points out the absolute insanity of twining together employment and access to health care.

We need single payer NOW.

[SunSeeker]

15. K & R

[Judi Lynn]

17. Will be avoiding this place completely. They hate those who must work.

How could anyone feel good about being served by people who are being reamed by right-wing moral degenerates?

Thank you for the helpful alert.

[tridim]

19. Costco doesn't have high turnover. Do you ever wonder why that is, Earl?

You lying piece of corporate crap.

[marble falls]

20. I won't be going to Beppo's anymore and I'll be e-mailing them to let them know why.

[on point]

21. They should pay a health care tax on per hr basis to kill this off

Better of course is single payer divorced from employers totally

[Duckwraps]

22. Gee, a very unpredictable outcome

of the ACA.

[LiberalEsto]

23. This practice has been going on in supermarkets and restaurants for years.

One of the many, many problems with this bad practice is that people don't have steady, regular hours, so they can't get other part-time jobs to supplement their incomes.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

26. We had one around here

It closed.