IHOP forced into damage control after franchise posts sign blaming Biden for reduced hours

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IHOP was forced into damage control mode after an Alaska franchise posted a sign to the door of its restaurant blaming President Biden for the employee shortage.

"Due to the fact that Biden gave out way to [sic] much free money and nobody wants to work anymore. We are forced to reduce our hours during the week," read a sign on the door of IHOP's Wasilla, Alaska, location.

IHOP (International House of Pancakes) (iStock)

YELLEN ON U.S. LABOR SHORTAGE: BUSINESSES MAY HAVE TO PAY MORE, BUT IT’S ‘GOOD FOR WORKERS’ 

A photograph of the sign was posted to Twitter over the weekend and quickly went viral before the original tweet was deleted, but not before the company was forced to respond to the controversy.

In a statement provided to Nexstar, IHOP confirmed that the sign had been posted on the door but said that the sign was "immediately removed" after the company became of aware of it. The company did not comment on how long the sign was displayed before it was made aware of it.

President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom)

"This was an unauthorized act of one individual and does not represent the viewpoints of IHOP or the local Franchisee," a spokesperson for IHOP said.

The tweet sparked debate about the sign, with some expressing agreement with the message. Others fiercely disagreed, with some pointing out that stimulus payments and enhanced unemployment benefits were started under former President Donald Trump.

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Former President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

While the shortage of labor that has plagued the economy for much of the past year has often been blamed on enhanced unemployment benefits, a recent analysis of the issue points out that retiring older workers may be more to blame for the trend. Those numbers may have been worsened by the pandemic, causing some to leave the workforce for retirement earlier than previously planned.

Of the 3.6 million workers who left the labor force last month and indicated that they did not want a job, 90% were over the age of 55.

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