White Castle Vice President for Government and Shareholder Relations Jamie Richardson warned Obamacare will have an adverse impact on the popular fast food burger chain's hiring practices Wednesday on "Your World."
Richardson said the employer mandate will increase healthcare expenses for the chain by 35 percent, forcing new hires at White Castle to be only part-time employees.
Host Stuart Varney asked Richardson to react specifically to Senior White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett's claim that the Affordable Care Act will not create part-time workers:
STUART VARNEY: Valerie Jarrett, very close to the president, very senior adviser, she says the healthcare law is not creating part-time work. What's your response to her statement?
JAMIE RICHARDSON: A lot of times things look good in Washington, D.C. on the chalkboard. In the real world, we are faced with difficult choices. We want to serve neighborhoods and communities, want to offer a path to prosperity for more people. If our cost in the biggest investment, people and food, are impacted by bad laws, we have no choice but to try to work within the law to find ways to keep our doors open, to be able to expand and grow and have more impact in more neighborhoods, so I would say I disagree.
The concerns voiced by the White Castle VP are hardly rare in the franchisee based small business industry.
Subway co-founder Fred Deluca told CNBC last February the number one concern of their franchise owners is how Obamacare will impact healthcare expenses:
Los Angeles based Barney's Beanery owner David Houston has stated Obamacare will significantly inhibit expansion and consume up to a third of profits: