New California Law Could Bump Fast Food Wages Up To $22 An Hour

Breaking Business New California Law Could Bump Fast Food Wages Up To $22 An Hour Madeline Halpert Forbes Staff Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 5, 2022, 02:53pm EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Labor Day signed new legislation fiercely opposed by large restaurant chains that establishes a council to help improve working conditions for roughly half a million workers in the fast-food industry, a move that could potentially raise industry minimum wages from $15 to up to $22 an hour, the highest in the nation.

An employee serves french fries at McDonald’s fast food restaurant. Getty Images Key Facts Newsom signed the “Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act,” (known as the Fast Act) which will create the state’s first “Fast Food Council” made up of 10 people, including workers, management and two state officials, to set policies such as worker safety and health conditions. The law will help give “hardworking fast-food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table to set fair wages and critical health and safety standards across the industry,” Newsom said, adding he signed the legislation on Labor Day to “pay tribute to the workers who keep our state running.

” The signing comes a week after California’s State Senate narrowly passed the bill, which applies to restaurant chains with at least 100 locations around the country, including big corporations like Starbucks and McDonald’s, and gives the council the power to set a new minimum wage of as much as $22 an hour next year. Chief Critic The bill received substantial pushback from the fast food industry, including McDonald’s , which has spoken out repeatedly against the legislation, arguing it unfairly burdens larger chains by imposing “higher costs on one type of restaurant, while sparing another,” even if “those two restaurants have the same revenues and the same number of employees. ” In a letter to the California State Senate two weeks ago, the U.

S. Chamber of Commerce also asked politicians not to pass the bill, claiming it would “simply increase costs that ultimately would be borne by consumers. ” Big Number More than $1 million.

That’s how much major corporations including Chipotle, Yum Brands, Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burgers, Jack in the Box, and Burger King parent company Restaurant Brands International have spent combined between 2021 and June 30 2022 to lobby lawmakers, predominately on the Fast Act, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Key Background The Fast Act was advocated for by the Service Employees International Union, a labor union representing nearly 1. 9 million workers in the U.

S. and Canada, which argued the legislation would allow workers more collective bargaining power in an industry where certain obstacles such as high turnover rates and a franchise model can make it hard to unionize. The union group has been working on a campaign since 2012 called “Fight For $15” to raise the minimum wage nationwide.

Lawmakers worked to quell some concerns raised by industry groups in the final Fast Act bill, including by removing a joint liability measure that would have allowed workers and the state to hold parent companies accountable for franchise owners’ violations. The Senate also cut measures allowing the council to create policies on sick leave and time-off benefits and capped new minimum wages at $22 for next year. California is already set to increase the state minimum wage for all workers by 50 cents to $15.

50 on January 1. Further Reading California Fast Food Wages Would Be Set by Government Under Bill Passed by State Legislature (Wall Street Journal) Fast Food Wages Could Increase to $22 an Hour in California (Wall Street Journal) California Senate Passes Bill to Regulate Fast-Food Industry (New York Times) California’s fast food bill could link chains to wage theft and other workplace violations (CalMatters) Check out my website . Send me a secure tip .

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