California Employment News: Overview of the Fast Food Minimum Wage Increase AB122
#WorkforceWednesday: The Union-Friendly Biden NLRB, California's FAST Act, and Pay Transparency in California - Employment Law This Week®
In 2019, KFC dropped the unexpected into a frier and forever changed the quick-serve restaurant (QSR) industry. They teamed up with Beyond Meat, a leading plant-based meat company, to create a vegan chicken offering, which...more
Effective April 1, 2024, a new California law will require employers in the state’s fast casual restaurant industry to pay covered non-exempt employees a minimum wage of $20 an hour. This article summarizes the steps...more
On March 26, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 610, which amends the definition of “fast food restaurant” to exempt restaurants in airports, hotels, event centers, theme parks, museums, and certain other...more
When Taco Bell announced its intention to eliminate all exclusive trademark rights in the phrase TACO TUESDAY, it invoked the Declaration of Independence, claiming that any restriction on the right to use it “violates an...more
RESTAURANTS AND FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS: OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSIDERATIONS HEADING INTO 2024 - From a new employment trend to the advantages and risks of technology to an emerging area of class action litigation to a...more
Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the FAST Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (AB 257), which sought to increase the California minimum wage to $22 per hour, with annual increases thereafter, and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: California has increased the minimum wage of fast food workers to $20, and authorized the creation of the Fast Food Council comprised of representatives from labor and management to set minimum standards...more
Effective January 1, 2024, the general statewide minimum wage will increase by .50 cents, bringing the hourly rate from $15.50 to $16.00. Please also keep in mind that many (around 35-40) cities and counties in...more
On September 11, 2023, industry, government, and union representatives announced that they had reached a deal to remove a California referendum on the Fast Food Accountability and Standards (“FAST”) Recovery Act from the 2024...more
For years, California has led the way in the fast food industry, with several prominent brands having their origins in the Golden State. More recently, California has shown innovation in the ways that the employment of fast...more
As restaurants emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, employers in the industry continue to face new challenges with organizing activity on the rise and new generations leading the charge....more
It’s been a busy spring at the California state capitol. Among the few thousand bills being considered by California’s legislature this year, AB 1228 stands out. The bill would essentially create joint liability for...more
With one day left to spare before the deadline to introduce new bills, on February 16, 2023, California Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41) introduced Assembly Bill 1228, the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act.” This...more
On January 24, 2023, the California Secretary of State completed its verification process and qualified a referendum challenging Assembly Bill (AB) 257, also known as the FAST Recovery Act for the November 2024 ballot. In the...more
On January 13, 2023, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang ruled that implementation of the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (“FAST Act”) should remain on hold pending the Secretary of State’s...more
While the Secretary of State continued to count signatures to determine if a potential referendum challenging the FAST Recovery Act (AB 257) will make it on the ballot, the Sacramento Superior Court has issued a preliminary...more
On December 30, 2022, Judge Shelleyanne Chang of the Superior Court of Sacramento issued a temporary restraining order to block adoption of the FAST Act, which was due to take effect on January 1. The Save Local...more
While the Secretary of State continued to count signatures to determine if a potential referendum on the FAST Recovery Act (the Act) will make it on the ballot, a lawsuit was filed by a coalition of California small business...more
On Labor Day, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which authorized the California Department of Industrial Relations to create a Fast Food Council...more
In December 2020, the New York City Council passed the Wrongful Discharge Law, which prohibited fast food employers from terminating employees “except for just cause or for a bona fide economic reason.” A bill has now been...more
As we previewed previously, a number of hot-button legislative proposals made it to Governor Newsom’s desk this year – many of which would change the landscape for California employers. For the first time since the COVID-19...more
The Act has the potential to significantly increase wages for restaurant employees and to impose work scheduling limitations on restaurant companies. Key Points: ..Restaurant companies that are part of a chain with...more
California lawmakers just passed the first bill in the nation that aims to enact specific workplace rules and standards for fast-food employees – a move that could have devastating consequences for the industry. The Fast Food...more
On June 7, 2022, Taco Bell opened its newest location in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Unlike other Taco Bell locations, the Brooklyn Park restaurant offers exclusively drive-through services with no...more