The company has four restaurant brands: Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
While the company has not terminated employees, it believes that the “sudden and unexpected” reduction of hours could be seen as layoffs, Marcus Heiling, vice president of litigation for OS Restaurant Services LLC/Bloomin Brands Inc., said in a notice to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Kentucky Career Center this week.
Affected Southwestern Ohio restaurant locations, with the number of impacted workers, include:
* Bonefish Grill, 2818 Miamisburg-Centerville Road - 52 employees.
* Bonefish Grill, West Chester Twp. - 44 employees.
* Carrabba’s Italian Grill, 900 Miamisburg-Centerville Road - 53.
* Fleming’s, 4432 Walnut St., The Greene, Beavercreek - 60.
* Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Mason - 49.
* Outback Steakhouse, 6800 Miller Lane - 95.
* Outback Steakhouse, 1801 Towne Park Drive, Troy - 84.
* Outback Steakhouse, Springdale - 87.
* Outback Steakhouse, Mason - 93.
On April 16, in a statement, David Deno, Bloomin Brands’ chief executive, said at that time the company had not terminated or furloughed any employees as a result of COVID-19.
“For hourly employees impacted by the closure of our dining rooms, we have provided four weeks of relief pay to date and free meals for pick-up,” Deno said in the April 16 statement. “We hope to be able to continue providing these benefits and will reassess our ability to do so every two weeks.”
Deno also said he had suspended his salary and the company’s board of directors had suspended their cash retainers.
In total, the Florida-based company operates more than 1,450 restaurants in 48 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and 21 countries, some of which are franchises.
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