Tom Tillison
While selling his signature healthcare plan to the country, President Obama made a lot of promises that proved not to be true. A promise he did not make was that a nice dinner out would cost more — which is too bad, because he would have gotten that one right.
A Southern California restaurant has added an Obamacare surcharge to help offset healthcare costs for its staff, according to CBS Los Angeles.
“République,” a restaurant in Los Angeles with over 50 full-time employees, added a three percent surcharge to each check as a solution to meeting the requirement under the Affordable Care Act that it provide workers healthcare.
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“Everyone has the same policy that I do as the owners,” owner and chef Walter Manske told the CBS affiliate KCAL9. “And we offer it to everyone; dishwasher, busboy, waiters, across the board.”
The reaction to the restaurant’s unique solution has been mixed.
“It’s not MY responsibility to take care of YOUR employees’ healthcare… that’s YOUR job,” a critic wrote on a review site, according to KCAL9.
On the other hand, some customers take the surcharge out of the gratuity.
“Adding it to the tip, or taking it away from the tip is normal, and I think it’s important that everybody has healthcare within the restaurants,” one customer said.
How long the establishment continues the policy remains to be seen.
“Even if this isn’t the perfect solution, it’s definitely a solution, and so far, there isn’t any other solution,” Manske said.
