Stephen Bienko, an owner of College Hunks Hauling Junk franchises, spoke with Bloomberg’s Tom Keene on Wednesday morning about Obamacare. He revealed that he has been forced to reduce his employee’s hours due to the high costs of Obamacare.
Obamacare regulations stipulate that employers with more than 50 workers must offer a health plan to employees who work at least 30 hours per week. The mandate has been delayed, but this does little to alleviate the severe damages (profit cuts, reduced hours of operation, and others) small business owners face in the days ahead.
Asked by Keene what cost would be incurred per employee if Bienko’s business does not abide by the law, Bienko responded that it will cost his business $2,500 per employee. Bienko currently employs 72 workers nationwide. He shared that it has been interesting to watch his business grow because employees usually begin with the intent to work only part time, but find a sense of mission and purpose and soon ask to be given full time employee status, something that Obamacare will likely strip as it forces Bienko to cut their hours. If Obamacare was not implemented, Bienko says that he would be able to make his part-time employees full-time employees and offer them health insurance.