May 7, 2013 4:13PM # Strange Things Are Afoot at the Circle K By [Michael F. Cannon](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-f-cannon) --- SHARE The *Washington Free Beacon* [reports](http://freebeacon.com/circle-k-shifts-workers-to-part-time-blames-obamacare/): > Circle K Southeast joined a growing list of national companies shifting workers to part-time status this week, in order to avoid paying Obamacare’s mandatory benefits, [CBS-WTOC reports](http://www.wtoc.com/story/22148051/companies-shift-workers-to-part-time-as-health-care-reform-looms). > > > The alternative is to pay a $2,000 fine per fulltime worker who is not covered, leading Circle K to become the latest in a long line of companies to slice employee hours to avoid increased costs. Here’s the video: The *Free Beacon* continues: > Regal Entertainment Group, the largest U.S. theater chain, [specifically blamed Obamacare](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/companies-cut-worker-hours-avoid-obamacare-report-article-1.1333305) in April when it shifted many of its employees to below the 30-hour threshold to offset Obamacare, as did [AAA Parking](http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=c7c2d8c0-db3c-48e3-95bd-db7a4da2ef26). [Numerous restaurants, hotels and retailers](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204707104578094941709047834.html) have done or are considering the same. > > > Long Beach, Calif., located in heavily Democratic Los Angeles County, is [cutting back the hours of employees](http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-part-time-healthcare-20130502,0,1429286,full.story) to avoid the penalty, as has the [state of Virginia and the city of Dearborn, Mich](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/03/long-beach-obamacare-part-time-hours_n_3208392.html?utm_hp_ref=business). > > > In March, *The New York Times* [noted an “unsettling trend” in the rise of part-time workers](http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/the-rise-of-part-time-work/) during the languishing economic recovery in the U.S. > > > Earlier this week, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean acknowledged [patients will be damaged by the legislation](http://freebeacon.com/dean-ultimately-patients-will-be-damaged-by-obamacare/), and longtime advocate Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said Obamacare could cause premiums [to go through the roof](http://freebeacon.com/schumer-health-insurance-rates-could-go-the-through-roof-because-of-obamacare/) Thursday before [trying to walk back the remarks](http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/05/schumer-obamacare-walk-back.php). > > > Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has also said citizens purchasing new insurance policies for themselves this fall [could face rising premiums](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/03/26/sebelius-some-could-see-insurance-premiums-rise/) due to the Affordable Care Act. Yet the federal government has [no authority](http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2106789) to impose penalties on these employers in the 33 states that have declined to establish an ObamaCare Exchange. A new [lawsuit](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303933704577531271643114572.html) seeks to prevent the IRS from imposing those illegal penalties. ##### Related Tags [Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).