On Monday, Sept. 5, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which is a bill that would allow fast food workers’ wages in California to be established by a government council whose members are appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules Committee of California. The bill had recently been passed by California’s Legislature on Aug. 29 before arriving to the desk of Governor Newsom.
The bill would assumedly allow the government council to set hourly wages of up to $22 for fast food workers and also to increase the wages on an annual basis based on the rate of the consumer-price index (up to 3.5 percent). Restaurants covered under the bill include fast food chains, those with limited or no table service and those in which customers order and pay for food prior to eating.
The FAST Recovery Act is meant to unionize workers in fast food restaurants and increase their wages; however, if passed by Governor Newsom, the impact of the bill could cause an increase in costs to the consumer to cover the increase in labor costs.
For more information about the bill and its potential impact, contact your Windham Brannon advisor or reach out to Maggie Wise.
