SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The controversial new minimum wage increase for some fast food workers in California goes into effect Monday, April 1.
Assembly Bill 610 will require fast food chains with 60 or more locations to pay workers $20 an hour. For most workers, it’s a 25% wage increase, or $4 more an hour.
Now, small businesses who aren’t required to raise their wages are worried they won’t stay competitive in hiring and be able to take on the extra costs.
Small business owner Patty Cox says it’s one of the factors contributing to the closing of business Pizza Bell in Elk Grove.
“We aren’t in that $20 wage but the fact that I have employees that been here 15 years, we naturally need to pay them more money,” said Cox.
She says it’s just another factor taking a slice out of budgets, along with increased rent, cost for food and now having to pay more competitive wages.
“I think it needs more thought because you are asking a business owner manager to pay someone that’s 16-years-old $20. I don’t think minimum wage is to live on, it’s an introduction to life and job experience,” said Cox.
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the union for these workers, estimates the new wage will help more than 500,000 Californians and apply to 3,000 employers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has created some exemptions: the new wage will not apply to food places in amusement parks, airports and hotels. Other exemptions include working at a fast food stand inside a grocery store who makes a majority of their money off groceries.
This complicated bill has left many restaurant owners scrambling at the deadline and wondering if it applies to them with only this frequently asked questions page for answers.
For workers who think their wage is incorrect, they can contact the Labor Commissioner's Office with a claim. However, it can take years to process while the department remains backlogged and understaffed.
