Florida Police Officer Sgt. Ron King Fired for Bringing Targets Resembling Trayvon Martin to Gun Range … Officer Claims Target Was a ‘No-Shoot training Aid’

The Port Canaveral Police Department has fired  Sgt. Ron King because he allegedly brought targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range and had asked two other officers and a civilian whether they wanted to shoot at the targets. The targets displayed a hooded sweatshirt with a target on the chest, Skittles in the pocket and iced tea in a hand. Sgt. Ron King, who had been with the Port Canaveral police force for two years, owns a company in which he offers firearm training and personal safety coaching and spent nearly 22 years with the Melbourne Police Department.  Port Authority interim CEO Jim Walsh stated, “Whether it was his stupidity or his hatred, (this is) not acceptable.” Hmm, so individuals get fired for stupidity? If that were the case 95% of politicians would be out of a job.

A Florida police officer fired for bringing targets resembling Trayvon Martin to a gun range apologized to the shooting victim’s family “for being used as a pawn in somebody’s political agenda” but said the targets are a valuable training tool.

Police Sgt. Ron King denied claims by Port Canaveral Interim Chief Executive Officer John Walsh that King was leading target practice with two other officers and a civilian earlier this month when he asked the group if they wanted to shoot at the targets.

The Port Canaveral Police Department fired King on Friday following an internal investigation, according to port officials.

Port Canaveral Sgt. Ron King defends himself and proclaims his innocence in the below video claiming that he referred to the targets as a “no shoot training aid”. King refuses to sit by and watch he and the Martin family be used for others political agendas. And there lies the rub. Who knows what was in the mind of  Sgt. Ron King, what he said, or what the complaining parties said, heard or later attested to. One thing is a certainty when it comes to the Trayvon Martin murder case where George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer, is charged with second degree murder in the teens death, it’s highly political and racially charged. Why would anyone even attempt to d something with a Trayvon Martin target whether it was being used for a good or less than honorable thing? Nothing good could come of it as the racial blood is in the water and individuals are just waiting to pounce on it. In today’s PC world and the media bias involved in this case, anyone would be crazy to use any likeness, reference or anything to do with Trayvon, Skittles or Hoodies is job suicide.

Sorry, I find it hard to believe that a police officer of 25 years would publically do something like use a Trayvon Martin poster silhouette to use as a shooting target. Did he have it, yes, King admits he did. However, the lack of judgment and understanding that this would get politically hijacked is on him. Who could not have predicted that this could have come to no good?

USA Today:

“Using real-life situations as a training scenario is not uncommon,” King said.

King apologized to Trayvon’s family and to any law enforcement professionals who may have been embarrassed by the publicity swirling around the incident. He accused an unnamed officer of inventing details of the incident to damage the credibility of the police department’s leadership.

“I remain a professional law enforcement officer and a professional firearms instructor,” said King, who can appeal his dismissal. “I refuse to sit by while others use the Martin family and myself as a way to further their own political and career agendas.”

Trayvon Martin’s family attorney released a statement saying, “It is absolutely reprehensible that a high-ranking member of the Port Canaveral Police, sworn to protect and serve Floridians, would use the image of a dead child as target practice.”

Fisker Automotive Who Received Government Loan Totaling $529 million Fires 75% of Workers

Yet just another example of more poor Obama investments in so-called “Green” energy companies …

Add Fisker Automotive to the long list of Obama’s green energy investment failures. As reported at Bloomberg, Fisker Automotive is firing as much as 75% of workforce. President Barack Obama and the Department of Energy should be forced to explain to the “We the People” why they pissed away the American tax payers hard earned money and continue to do so with these wasteful investments in to so-called green energy. When will the MSM ever do their job and hold Obama accountable? When will the American people ever wake up and do the same?

Fisker Automotive Inc.’s mass firings after receiving federal loans to build luxury plug-in cars is adding to the political debate over the U.S. government’s funding of clean-energy programs.

Most of the assets of Fisker’s battery supplier that received a $249.1 million federal grant, the former A123 Systems Inc. (AONEQ), were acquired last year by a Chinese company. Now Fisker, awarded $529 million in U.S. loans, is firing 75 percent of its workforce after failing to secure a deal with an automotive partner to fund operations.

The debacle is reviving questions over whether the government should be funding makers of alternative energy ventures. Fisker and A123, whose bankruptcy halted Fisker’s output, have drawn Republican criticism of President Barack Obama’s support of green-energy programs intended to spur more fuel-efficient cars.

How long will it be until Fisker Automotive declares bankruptcy? Its already on the list of Obama’s green energy investment failures.  Obama’s green energy investments have been a joke, now they are officially a complete joke.

The complete list of faltering or bankrupt green-energy companies:

• Evergreen Solar ($25 million)*
• SpectraWatt ($500,000)*
• Solyndra ($535 million)*
• Beacon Power ($43 million)*
• Nevada Geothermal ($98.5 million)
• SunPower ($1.2 billion)
• First Solar ($1.46 billion)
• Babcock and Brown ($178 million)
• EnerDel’s subsidiary Ener1 ($118.5 million)*
• Amonix ($5.9 million)
• Fisker Automotive ($529 million)
• Abound Solar ($400 million)*
• A123 Systems ($279 million)*
• Willard and Kelsey Solar Group ($700,981)*
• Johnson Controls ($299 million)
• Schneider Electric ($86 million)
• Brightsource ($1.6 billion)
• ECOtality ($126.2 million)
• Raser Technologies ($33 million)*
• Energy Conversion Devices ($13.3 million)*
• Mountain Plaza, Inc. ($2 million)*
• Olsen’s Crop Service and Olsen’s Mills Acquisition Company ($10 million)*
• Range Fuels ($80 million)*
• Thompson River Power ($6.5 million)*
• Stirling Energy Systems ($7 million)*
• Azure Dynamics ($5.4 million)*
• GreenVolts ($500,000)
• Vestas ($50 million)
• LG Chem’s subsidiary Compact Power ($151 million)
• Nordic Windpower ($16 million)*
• Navistar ($39 million)
• Satcon ($3 million)*
• Konarka Technologies Inc. ($20 million)*
• Mascoma Corp. ($100 million)

Only A Matter of Time … Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti Resigns in Wake of Mike Rice Abusive Behavior Scandal Firing

The Buck does not stop at the desk of the Rutgers University President …

In the wake of the firing of Rutgers University Basketball coach Mike Rice firing and the scandal that surrounded his abusive behavior toward his players, it was only a matter of time before the next shoe dropped. Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti has now resigned  in an effort to calm down the public furor over their handling of abusive behavior by the Scarlet Knights’ men’s basketball coach. We had asked the very question, why once the video came out of the inappropriate and abusive behavior of coach Rice was he fired as opposed to when he was first punished with a suspension? Those that made the decision to only suspend Rice saw the very same videos. Obviously, those at Rutgers who made the decision to only suspended Rice had made a grave error in judgment and were going to pay a price once the video became viral. However, how many scapegoats will be required to take the fall to make up for the initial non-firing of Rice?

They also revealed that the circle of people who viewed video of abusive treatment of players by the coach, Mike Rice, as early as December was wider than previously understood, and that it included members of the university’s board of governors. That group was informed of the decision to suspend Mr. Rice for three games and send him to anger-management counseling, but not to fire him, according to Ralph Izzo, chairman of the Rutgers board.

On Friday morning, two days after Mr. Rice was fired, Athletic Director Tim Pernetti resigned, and implied that he was being made a scapegoat. He said his initial inclination when he saw the videos last fall was to fire Mr. Rice, but “Rutgers decided to follow a process involving university lawyers, human resources professionals, and outside counsel.”

Robert L. Barchi, the president of Rutgers, placed the blame on Mr. Pernetti and other senior officials who he said recommended that Mr. Rice be suspended rather than fired.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Rutgers University President Robert L. Barchi announced the resignations of Mr. Pernetti and John B. Wolf, the university’s general counsel. It would appear at Rutgers, the buck does not stop at the president, it stops at those beneath him who he wishes to throw under the bus. Question, how with such a scandal like this does the president of a university not watch a tape unless they wish to claim plausible deniability?

Dr. Barchi placed the blame for the decision to suspend rather than fire Mr. Rice in December squarely on Mr. Pernetti and the university’s lawyers, saying he had not watched the video of Mr. Rice’s actions last fall and instead had relied on their descriptions of it.

“I know had I seen the tape that my assessment would have differed from theirs, and I would have acted on my assessment,” Dr. Barchi said.

When asked why he had not watched the video, he said: “I can’t answer exactly why I didn’t. You can only say in retrospect I sure wish I had.”

Rutgers University Fires Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Rice After Video Aired of Him Shoving, Grabbing & Throwing Balls at Players and Using Gay Slurs

Rutgers University fires Men’s basketball coach Mike Rice after video surfaces …

The University of Rutgers Scarlet Knights have fired Mike Rice, the men’s basketball coach after a video went viral of him shoving, grabbing, throwing balls at players and making gay slurs during practice. However, here lies the rub, the incidents in the videos are not new, they took place last year. Rutgers athletic director Pernetti had previously seen the video and last Fall suspended Rice for three games, fined him $50,000 and ordered him to attend anger management classes. So why is there a difference now? Of course the actions of the coach were way over the top, but the question remains, why after watching the same video that is now so outrageous, was it found to be a ok to suspend him previously, but not now?

Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice on Wednesday after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players and using gay slurs during practice.

The videotape, broadcast Tuesday on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” prompted sharp criticism from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and the head of the New Jersey Assembly called for Rice to be fired.

With mounting criticism on a state and national level, the school relieved Rice of his duties after three largely unsuccessful seasons at the Big East school. There will be a national search to replace him.

Rutgers fired basketball coach Mike Rice on Wednesday after a videotape aired showing him shoving, grabbing and throwing balls at players and using gay slurs during practice.

The videotape, broadcast Tuesday on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” prompted sharp criticism from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and the head of the New Jersey Assembly called for Rice to be fired.

With mounting criticism on a state and national level, the school relieved Rice of his duties after three largely unsuccessful seasons at the Big East school. There will be a national search to replace him.

Some are calling for the heads of President Robert Barchi and Athletic Director Tim Pernetti.

This may be a bit syndical, but it is the truth and some one needs to say it. Mike Rice was fired because he had been at the school three years and had yet to have a .500 season. In the Big East he went just 44-51 in three seasons. Rice posted a 16-38 mark in the conference after going 73-31 in three seasons at Robert Morris. If Rice had been a successful coach, had the team headed in the right direction and was bringing $’s to the university, the outcome might have been a bit difference.

On a personal note I will say the following after playing sports my entire life from Pee-wee’s to Elementary School. High School and College … has a coach ever put their hands on me, grabbed me by the face mask, yelled (screamed) in my face or thrown a ball at me … yes. A ball at my head, no. I will also note that this coach did get a tab bit too physical with the player and cross a line. But there seem to be other issues in this incident that would not have ever been a consideration in the past. Have I ever experienced a coach ever used what today’s PC media calls a gay slur, gee ya think? I guess being told that men were playing like girls would be a no-no today as well? But of course we live in a different world today where you cannot hurt another’s feelings or make them feel uncomfortable. I do think that this coach stepped over the line, but keep in mind there is a line. Grabbing a player is hardly a fireable offense. Sometimes shoving is not either. Anyone who has ever played a sport knows exactly what I am talking about and knows that most of lives greatest lessons are taught to them in the realm of athletics.

The only conclusion I can draw from this was it was not his actions that got him fired, but the VIDEO. Let this be a lesson to every coach in a world where ever 10 year old has a video phone.

Thanks to Obamacare … Businesses Are Hiring Less And Laying Off Workers

Former Speaker of the House Democrat Nancy Pelosi may have told only one truth in her political life when she said, We have to pass Obamacare to find out what’s in it. However, it was like playing Russian roulette in doing so. Guess what America, there was a bullet in the chamber.

As reported at The Hill, the Federal Reserve released an edition of its so-called “beige book,” that said the 2010 healthcare law is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in hiring.  The complex and all encompassing law is not just about healthcare, its about control of ones life and the government take over of healthcare. Why would one think that there are over a thousand pages? As reported at the Weekly Standard, that Obamacare baffles even its ardent supporters as was the case with Donna Brazile who famously tweeted her confusion a week or so ago. The bill is awesomely complex and the claims made for it by its authors and supporters are impossibly optimistic many of whom may not really expect it to perform as sold.  Obama, Pelosi, Reed, Democrats and the liberal MSM all knowingly misrepresented Obamacare and inflicted this Hell on America.

America, Pelosi, Obama and Reed at laughing at you!

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday released an edition of its so-called “beige book,” that said the 2010 healthcare law is being cited as a reason for layoffs and a slowdown in hiring.

“Employers in several Districts cited the unknown effects of the Affordable Care Act as reasons for planned layoffs and reluctance to hire more staff,” said the March 6 beige book, which examines economic conditions across various Federal Reserve districts across the country.

That line was found in a section of the Fed’s report on employment, wages and prices. That same section also said the Atlanta district noted that healthcare regulations are so burdensome there is a shortage of compliance specialists.

“Atlanta noted a lack of compliance specialists due to heavier regulations in the healthcare industry,” it said.

Remember when Nancy Pelosi told us that Obamacare would create 400,000 jobs, almost immediately? She stated that this job was not only about health care, it was about jobs too. As it turns out, it was about neither and you bought it hook, line and sinker America.

Obamacare is a nightmare for America and now it appears that the cowardly establishment Republicans  do not have the spine to defund this beast.

Thanks to Obamacare Smith & Nephew Orthopedics Laying Off 100 Workers Because of 2.3% Excise Tax on Medical Devices

Obamacare costs Americans more jobs …

The 100 employees who are being laid off at  Smith & Nephew Orthopedics in Memphis, TN and Andover, MA can than President Barack Obama and Obamacare for their new found unemployment. The lay offs are being attributed to Obamacare and the excise tax was built into the Affordable Healthcare Act and took effect on January 1, 2013 that puts a 2.3% tax on medical devices. Just yet more brilliance from Barack Obama and the government take over of healthcare. With a poor economy and a jobs market that continues to struggle with job growth, Obama has done his part to make sure even more Americans lose their jobs. All in the name of taxes and increasing g revenue to pay fro his boondoggle called Obamacare.

I guess its kind of hard for you to keep your insurance and doctors like I promised if you lose your job, eh?

Smith & Nephew Orthopedics is laying off an estimated 100 employees in Memphis and Andover, Mass., citing the 2.3 percent excise tax on orthopedic device companies as the reason.

Joe Metzger, senior vice president of corporate communications for Smith & Nephew, said the tax is impacting “a number of companies across the U.S.”

“Smith & Nephew is not immune from this added expense burden,” Metzger said in a statement. “Unfortunately, and in order to absorb this cost burden into our business, this has meant less than 100 positions have been made redundant across various departmental functions in our Tennessee and Massachusetts sites. The company is providing the affected employees with a comprehensive severance package and outplacement support.”

Smith & Nephew employs an estimated 1,815 people in Memphis, according to Memphis Business Journal research. Metzger declined to reveal how many of the roughly 100 layoffs occurred in Memphis. A report in the Memphis Daily News, quoting anonymous sources, said there were 60 local jobs lost.

Just curious, if Obamacare is so affordable, why are people losing their jobs to pay for it?

The Obama Un-Midas Touch … 11 Months after Obama Praises US Lincolnton Furniture Company at White House – Company Goes Belly Up

President Barack Obama “UNMIDAS” touch continues. Talk about your irony, another company heralded as an example of Obama job growth goes bye-bye.

When will these companies ever learn not to have a photo-op with the anti-business, anti-capitalist president, Barack Obama? Just 11 months ago Obama praise the US furniture story, the Lincolnton Furniture Company and it’s owner Bruce Cochrane, as an example of job growth and the economy making a come back. Cochrane even sat with the first lady during Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address.

However, that was then and this is now … the failed job recovery and the Lincolnton Furniture Company has gone the way of the Do-Do and belly up. How ironic, less than one year after it was hailed by President Barack Obama as an example of the recovering U.S. economy. Get used to it America, you reelected him.

Lincolnton Furniture Company closed abruptly Thursday just one year after it was hailed by President Barack Obama as an example of the recovering U.S. economy.

Furniture-making operations stopped indefinitely and only a few people will remain employed moving forward, company financial officer Ben Causey said.

“I don’t know where it’s going to go exactly; we’re still evaluating our situation,” Causey said. “We just didn’t have any choice at this point.”

The company was not receiving the orders it needed to sustain its operations, Causey said.

“We needed more orders is really what it boiled down to,” he said. “We thought they would materialize.”

Owner Bruce Cochrane, a fifth generation furniture-manufacturer, formed the company in 2011 with a $5 million investment and the hope he could make a profit off people who wanted to buy furniture made in America.

Had the Lincolnton Furniture Company been a green energy company maybe they would have been given tax payer subsidies to survive. Then again, they would have failed as well like the Solyndra.

The Great Obama Unemployment Lie: Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.7% for November 2012 … Lose 350,000 from Labor Force & 73% of Civilian Jobs Created in the Past 5 Months Were Government Jobs

WHAT A JOKE … THE GREAT OBAMA LIE THAT THERE IS MOMENTUM IN THE JOB MARKET, JOB GROWTH AND THAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS GOING DOWN.

Yesterday it was reported that the unemployment rate for November 2012 dropped to 7.7%. Wow, great news right? More people must be getting jobs, so then the job market must be getting stronger. NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND. Although the unemployment rate went from 7.9% to 7.7% in November, a mere 146,000 jobs were created. It is exactly this government lie that the economy is supposedly getting better that is the cover for Obama to raise taxes. Every business,  struggling family and out of work individual knows the economy is not getting better. But the fabricated numbers put forth perpetrate the Obama lie that things improving. Everyone knows that it is economic suicide to increase taxes during a recession or struggling economy, so what do you think is going to happen when taxes are raised during this so-called job growth economy?

I can’t believe Americans are buying my BS, fooling these people was easier than I thought

CNBS Video: Rick Santelli: ‘They Love to Fib About Statistics’

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was little changed at 4.8 million in November. These individuals accounted for 40.1 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

The civilian labor force participation rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 63.6 percent in November, offsetting an increase of the same amount in October. Total employment was about unchanged in November, following a combined increase of 1.3 million over the prior 2 months. The employment-population ratio, at 58.7 percent, changed little in November. (See table A-1.)

So how does the rate tick down so much with so few jobs created? The unemployment rate did not go down because there is job growth, it went down due to workers leaving the work force. As reported at the Heritage Foundation, The labor force declined by 350,000 and the labor force participation rate declined to 63.6%. More reported at Zero Hedge with easy to to charts that show the real reason why the unemployment rate dropped  as  as the number of people out of the labor increased by over 540K to 88,883,000.

The only reason that the unemployment rate fell was because more people dropped out of the labor market than actually found jobs. The labor force declined by 350,000 and the labor force participation rate, a measure of potential workers, declined to 63.6, the same level as reported in September. The recovery is well underway, yet potential workers continue to remain on the sidelines and out of the labor market. One reason is that approximately 1.5 million more potential workers are on the disability rolls now as compared to 2007. It is doubtful that many of them will ever return to the labor force, lowering future economic growth.

Just when you thought that what little jobs that were being created was a good thing … THINK AGAIN. The key word America is “think”. As reported at CNS News, as private sector companies are laying people off in droves, 73% of civilian jobs created in the past 5 months were government jobs. What a great job recovery, one fueled by the government creating 7 in 10 jobs and John Q. Public, “We the People” having to pay their salaries. So how is this good for the economy?

In June, a total of 142,415,000 people were employed in the U.S, according to the BLS, including 19,938,000 who were employed by federal, state and local governments.

By November, according to data BLS released today, the total number of people employed had climbed to 143,262,000, an overall increase of 847,000 in the six months since June.

In the same five-month period since June, the number of people employed by government increased by 621,000 to 20,559,000. These 621,000 new government jobs created in the last five months equal 73.3 percent of the 847,000 new jobs created overall.

You elected this America. You wanted four more years of this fiasco. Maybe some of you should just keep to voting for American Idol only. I wonder how the MSM would have reported these terrible jobs numbers if a Republican had been president?

Medical Supply Company Stryker Announced they would Lay off 1,170 Workers citing the Costs associated with Obamacare.

You get what you vote for … get ready to add some more to future first time unemployment filers thank to Obama’s reelection and Obamacare.

Medical supply giant Stryker has announced that they will be laying off 1170 workers due to the costs associated with Obamacare.  Many of you in blue states appear to be getting exactly what you voted for, including those who owned businesses that would be directly harmed by Obama’s reelection and you supported him any how. The company will cut 1,170 jobs, or five percent of its worldwide workforce, despite the fact that the founder’s grandson was one of the largest contributors to President Obama’s re-election campaign. Brilliant, simply brilliant! What fool would knowingly support a president with policies that would directly harm his business and cost employees jobs?

Kalamazoo, Michigan – November 10, 2011 – Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) announced its intention to implement focused workforce reductions of approximately 5% of its global workforce and other restructuring activities that are anticipated to reduce annual pre-tax operating costs by over $100 million beginning in 2013. The targeted reductions and other restructuring activities are being initiated to provide efficiencies and realign resources in advance of the new Medical Device Excise Tax scheduled to begin in 2013, as well as to allow for continued investment in strategic areas and drive growth despite the ongoing challenging economic environment and market slowdown in elective procedures. The reductions and restructuring activities are expected to be substantially complete by the end of 2012. Stryker will provide employees affected by these reductions with severance packages, counseling and job placement services.

The Company expects to record pre-tax restructuring charges related to these reductions and restructuring activities totaling approximately $150 million to $175 million, of which approximately $85 million to $95 million are expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2011.

“As our markets continue to evolve, these actions are part of our ongoing focus on quality, innovation and cost, and position the Company to continue to provide strong, consistent growth in a changing environment,” said Stephen P. MacMillan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Against this backdrop, we are committed to achieving consistent double-digit per share earnings growth in 2011 and beyond.”

You can add these unemployment numbers directly to Obama’s reelection and a company that chose ideology over its employees.

Elections Have Consequences, Businesses Laying off Employees Due to Obamacare and Regulations … NY Applebee’s CEO Zane Tankel says He May have to Lay Off Employees because of Obamacare. (Update: Papa John to do the Same)

Exactly what did people think was going to happen when Obama was reelected and Obamacare penalties would be implemented rather than repealed? Maybe Americans would have voted differently had these policies been enacted prior to the election, but of course that was done ny design.

Elections have consequences and for those who voted for Barack Obama’s reelection might just get laid off or fired. In their infinite wisdom, or lack there of, America voted back in the most liberal/socialist President in the history of the United States. What does that mean … businesses will have to deal with the adverse effects of Obamacare on their business. The economics of Obamacare and its cost to the economy.

NY Applebee’s CEO Zane Tankel stated on the FOX business channel that he may have to let employees go or reduce their hours from full time to part time to deal with the expenses of Obamacare. Tankel went on to say that  this was the most difficult business climate he has ever seen. He has not made a final decision, but what one one think some one is going to do when expenses increase and revenues do not?

 Zane Tankel said that a hiring and expansion freeze might have to be implemented, much to the dismay of the LEFT. Money does not grow on trees and when the government decides to force their socialist policies on a business based in capitalism, there are consequences. What’s the answer of the ignorant and selfish LEFT, boycott those that dare take action to deal with the added expsnse of Obamacare. A note to the LEFT, guess what happens when revenues are reduced in a business, they lay even more employees off. But the ignorant LEFT does not care, they think the evil businesses make too much money. Funny how they want to tell others how to handle their money, but when it comes to their own like paying for woman’s own birth control, it’s hands off.

An Applebee’s New York area franchisee is the latest CEO to go public threatening drastic plans to avoid costs associated with the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

“We’ve calculated it will [cost] some millions of dollars across our system. So what does that say — that says we won’t build more restaurants. We won’t hire more people,” Zane Tankel, chairman and CEO of Apple-Metro, told Fox Business Network on Thursday.

Apple-Metro, which runs 40 Applebee’s restaurants, employs from 80 to 300 people at each of its locations. Obamacare mandates that businesses with more than 50 workers must offer an approved insurance plan or pay a penalty of $2,000 for each full-time worker over 30 workers.

Most small businesses with 50 or more employees already do offer health insurance, notes John Arensmeyer, CEO and founder of Small Business Majority, a national small business advocacy organization. But restaurant chains typically are among the sliver of businesses not offering insurance to workers. Other food chains have commented publicly that they would take strong measures.

UPDATE I: John Schnatter, Papa John’s CEO, Says he will likely have to raise costs and cut employee hours because of Obamacare.

A day after Barack Obama earned a second term in the White House, Papa John’s founder and CEO John Schnatter said the president’s signature health-care reform law would increase his business costs and possibly result in employees’ hours being cut.

Schnatter, a part-time Naples resident, made the comments Wednesday night inside a small auditorium at Edison State College’s Collier County campus. In August, he made national headlines after telling shareholders the Affordable Care Act — commonly known as Obamacare — would result in a 10- to 14-cent increase for customers buying a pizza.

“I got in a bunch of trouble for this,” he told the students. “That’s what you do, is you pass on costs. Unfortunately, I don’t think people know what they’re going to pay for this.”