Restaurantnewresource.com - Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) today provided an update on its full-time staffing plans for 2014 following thorough testing of potential changes in the composition of its workforce in connection with healthcare reform. The company has determined that:

 None of Darden's current full-time employees, hourly or salaried, will have their full-time status changed as a result of healthcare reform.

1. Each of Darden's new and existing restaurants will have full-time hourly employees because that is what it takes to fully deliver the experiences guests expect.
2. In 2014, all of Darden's full-time employees, including hourly, salaried and executive employees, will have access to the same insurance plan coverage.

Darden's current full-time population includes approximately 45,000 employees. Continue

Shhh. Keep it down. We may have missed a big one, a potential conflagration which can always be rekindled. That’s right, folks, you read about the Fast Food workers who demonstrated in New York City a few weeks ago, seeking higher wages and the right to organize. It was a one day demonstration, supported by a coalition of a number of community action and labor organizations. The word of caution here is to remember how the Occupy Wall Street movement began. Continue

Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association president and CEO Carol Dover said the changes going into effect on Jan. 1 will improve regulatory compliance.

The state Department of Business and Professional Regulation included Dover's comment Tuesday in a news release announcing the revisions that it is making in the state's Food Code.

The agency says the most business-friendly change will divide safety and sanitation violations into three categories: high priority, immediate and basic.

High priority violations are those that would contribute directly to a foodborne illness or injury such as deficiencies in cooking, reheating, cooling and hand-washing.

The new system is expected to be easier for restaurant managers as well as customers to understand.