McDonald’s says they’re “committed to being America’s best first job,” and they certainly are one of the nation’s largest employers, employing over 400,000 workers here in the U.S. Even more impressive though is this stat: one in eight Americans have been employed by McDonald’s at some time in their life, so maybe they really are the nation’s first job.
Thanks to President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the franchise announced that they’ll be devoting $150 million towards expanding their employee tuition assistance program.
According to the Daily Signal:
McDonald’s Corp. will allocate $150 million over five years to its global Archways to Opportunity education program, tripling tits reach.
“This investment will provide almost 400,000 U.S. restaurant employees with accessibility to the program as the company will also lower eligibility requirements from nine months to 90 days of employment and drop weekly shift minimums from 20 hours to 15 hours.”
McDonald’s is one of 472 companies, and counting, that have announced benefits such as pay raises, bonuses, utility rate cuts, or 401(k) hikes since Congress passed the tax cuts supported by President Donald Trump, according to Americans for Tax Reform.
The “Archways to Opportunity” program gives eligible American employees a path to obtain a high school diploma and get college tuition assistance After the tax-reform inspired investment, the program now offers up to $2,500 in assistance to regular employees and $3,000 a year to managers. The new changes also make it so that workers only have to be an employee for 90 days to get the benefits, and they only need to work a minimum of 15 hours.
It’s not what the “Fight for Fifteen” crowd wants, but given that most of McDonald’s employees are teenagers, this kind of benefit will provide much more long-term value. The average community college tuition comes is $3,520 a year, most of which would be covered by this benefit.
Do you think more companies will continue offering new benefits as a result of Trump’s tax cuts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
