Opposition to health care law hurts Olive Garden parent

• Darden Restaurants has rejected the requirement that employers provide health insurance
• The company noted a possible backlash from Americans boycotting its restaurants
• It planned to cut employees' hours to dodge the health care mandate

The restaurant company that owns the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains said Tuesday that its bottom line is suffering in part because because of opposition to President Obama's health care law.

Darden Restaurants has rejected the requirement that employers provide health insurance to full-time workers and said it would cut employees' hours to dodge the mandate under the Affordable Care Act, The Hill notes. That would force low-paid part-time workers to buy their own insurance or be covered by government-created exchanges starting in 2014.

Darden was just ranked among the 12 biggest companies paying workers the least. In 2001, Fortune included Darden on its list of 100 best companies to work for.

The company cited several factors for a steep drop in business and earnings during the second quarter, including "financially stretched consumers," failed promotions, Hurricane Sandy and the purchase of Yard House. It also noted a possible backlash from Americans boycotting its 1,994 restaurants.

"Our outlook for the year also reflects the potential impact, though difficult to measure, of recent negative media coverage that focused on Darden within the full-service segment and how we might accommodate health care reform," Darden's chairman and CEO, Clarence Otis, said in a news release.

In addition to a planned revamp "to respond successfully to important long-term consumer shifts," Otis said the company is "also committed to accommodating health care reform in ways that work for our employees and guests."