The
National Restaurant
Association
along with organizations representing hundreds of thousands of employers and
tens of millions of employees are launching the More Time for
Full-Time
initiative.
The
initiative, which includes the International Franchise Association, the
National Restaurant Association, the American Hotel & Lodging Association,
the National Retail Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American
Rental Association, the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, the National
Association of Convenience Stores, the National Grocers Association, and the
National Association of Theatre Owners, will highlight the negative impact the
30-hour work week definition in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has on employees
and employers, and urges Congress to restore the traditional definition of a
full-time employee to 40 hours per week through bipartisan reform. Returning to
a traditional 40-hour definition would benefit employees through more hours and
income, and employers would gain the ability to focus on growth and expansion
instead of restructuring their workforce.
The
launch includes a video, which will be featured on the new website moretimeforfulltime.org that highlights
the challenges workers and employers face as a result of the 30-hour work week
definition.
“As
the nation’s second largest private sector employer, restaurants provide
opportunity to a workforce of over 13.5 million employees,” said National
Restaurant Association President and CEO Dawn Sweeney. “The restaurant and
foodservice industries are attractive to millions of Americans looking for
flexible work schedules. As the current health care law stands, the
artificially low bright line of 30 hours as full time, forces employers to
limit that flexibility, stifling opportunity for expansion and job creation to
the detriment of our workforce. Raising the law’s definition of full-time
employee status to more traditional standard operating practices will alleviate
the burden placed on restaurant operators. They can then continue to provide
flexibility to their employees, grow their businesses and continue to be job
creators.”
“As
all Americans have known for decades, 40 hours represents the widely-accepted
definition of a full-time work week. Unless there is a statutory change to the
definition of a full-time employee in the ACA, there will be fewer full-time
jobs, more part-time workers and fewer overall hours available for Americans to
work,” said International Franchise Association President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “This initiative will bring greater focus to the
negative impact this law is having for workers and employers and hopefully move
us closer to the bipartisan reform we need.”
“The
More Time for Full-Time initiative provides an honest look at how
the new definition of a full-time employee under Obamacare is affecting men and
women who work hard every day to care for themselves and their families,” said
Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of the American Hotel and Lodging
Association. “This short-sighted change greatly limits workers’ ability to
maintain the flexible work schedule they seek in the hotel industry. Returning
to the traditional 40-hour work week would restore opportunities for
hard-working Americans, and allow hoteliers to better meet their employees’
needs.”
