“I think there’s a great deal of confusion within the restaurant industry on who is covered and who is not,” said Michael Bernick, an employment attorney with Duane Morris and the former director of California’s Employment Development Department. However, there are quite a few exceptions to this law and plenty of confusion about which workers will be covered. “At the end of the day, I’ve worked all these hours and I really have nothing to show for it, but just paying some bills,” she said.
New $20 minimum wage for fast food workers in California starts Monday
There’s also health insurance, paid vacation, no night or weekend shifts and a pension that could guarantee a monthly income after retirement. Plus, school food workers have predictable hours, letting them work other jobs if they wish — or in summer when school is out. The minimum wage law that took effect Monday guarantees at least $20-per-hour for workers at fast food restaurant chains with at least 60 locations nationwide. That doesn’t include school food service workers, historically some of the lowest-paid workers in public education. The new minimum wage for fast food workers will apply to restaurants with at least 60 locations nationwide, with an exception for restaurants that make and sell their own bread, like Panera Bread.
New $20 minimum wage for California fast food workers starts Monday
“But this is one of the first minimum wage around the us attempts beyond minimum wage to raise wages directly,” he noted. Bernick explained that for decades, California has been trying, unsuccessfully, to increase the wages of the state’s lowest wage workers. High food and housing costs were issues top of mind for voters in the 2024 election.
Middle-class wages aren’t keeping up. Some economists say policy is suppressing pay growth
He will have to raise prices anywhere from 5% to 15% at his stores, and is no longer hiring or seeking to open new locations in California, he said. But since it passed, many franchise owners have bemoaned the impact the law is having on them, especially during California’s slowing economy. But since it passed, many franchise owners have bemoaned the impact the law is having on them, especially during California’s slowing economy.
Keep up with our local independent news
And demand is projected to fuel an increase of more than 70 million extra meals in California schools this year compared to 2018, according to the state Department of Education. That was the main side-effect a decade ago, when Seattle hiked its minimum wage to $15, research suggests. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law Thursday amid a throng of cheering workers and labor leaders at an event in Los Angeles. Newsom dismissed the popular view that fast food jobs are meant for teenagers to have their first experience in the workforce.
- Now, she works about eight hours per week at a Jack in the Box while working other jobs.
- – ‘Conspiracy peddler’ -And Elizabeth Warren, the vice chair of the Senate Democrats, called Kennedy an “anti-science conspiracy peddler who is willing to gamble with American lives,” urging senators to reject the nomination.
- Now, the focus will shift to another group of low-wage California workers waiting for their own minimum wage increase.
- Sandra Jauregui from Sacramento is counting down the days to her first bigger paycheck in two weeks.
- “Restaurants open and close all the time, even in places where the minimum wage hasn’t changed for more than a decade. … Generally speaking, we found that in the restaurant industry, businesses were able to find ways to adapt to higher wage costs.”
- He said sales have slowed in 2024, prompting him to lay off his office staff and rely on his parents to help with payroll and human resources.
Trump hosting Netanyahu for White House talks amid Gaza ceasefire
- The issue is complicated by the state’s Medicaid program, which is the main source of revenue for many hospitals.
- Lawmakers passed a separate bill earlier this month that would gradually raise the minimum wage for health care workers to $25 per hour over the next decade.
- Unions have played a big part in Newsom’s political rise in California, offering a reliable source of campaign cash.
- “The January 1 increases show that the minimum wage continues to be a powerful tool for combating racial and gender wage disparities, supporting working families, and reducing poverty,” EPI said in its report.
- He said that because of the slowdown in sales in 2024, he had to fire his office employees and turn to his parents for assistance with payroll and human resources.
“I am used to being a champion of labor and I’m in this odd position,” says Michaela Mendelsohn, a longtime advocate for LGBT workers and also owner of six https://www.bookstime.com/articles/back-office-accounting El Pollo Loco restaurants with about 170 employees. Several fast-food executives have suggested prices would go up 2.5% to 3.5% to offset higher wages; Jack in the Box, Starbucks, McDonald’s and Chipotle have all warned of upcoming price hikes. That’s on top of price increases many restaurants have been rolling out for months. The cost of eating out has stubbornly inched higher even as inflation has cooled elsewhere.
- They’re among thousands of asylum-seekers who were stopped in their tracks by US President Donald Trump’s January 20 decision to cancel all CBP One appointments.
- The Newsom administration has estimated the wage increase would cost the state billions of dollars in increased payments to health care providers.
- Add kids or needing to care for other family members, and that worker falls below poverty levels.
- She said these workers only work three hours per day, meaning they aren’t eligible for health benefits.
- The law originated during private negotiations between unions and the industry, including the unusual step of signing confidentiality agreements.
$20 minimum wage for California fast food workers takes effect
Women make up almost 60% of workers seeing a raise, according to EPI’s analysis. A little over 11% of workers seeing higher paychecks are Black, and nearly 40% are Hispanic. Among those most directly benefiting from these wage increases are women and Black and Hispanic workers. With these continued increases, EPI found that 19 states and Washington, D.C., will have at least a $15 minimum wage by 2027. At the 2025 Grammy Awards, held at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, Beyoncé fixed assets made history once again by winning Best Country Album for her groundbreaking project, Cowboy Carter.
