The new law will increase the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour
Counters behind fast food restaurants across the Golden State may soon be emptier. That’s in part because restaurant owners in California are scrambling to reduce expenses ahead of a new California law that will increase the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour on April 1.
Ahead of the new law, some employers are making serious adjustments, such as cutting staff hours, laying off workers, and even closing the doors during sluggish parts of the day.
McDonald’s restaurant owner Scott Rodrick told The Wall Street Journal that he’s feeling the pressure to make changes.
“I can’t charge $20 for Happy Meals,” Rodrick, who owns 18 of the Golden Arches in Northern California, told The Journal. “I’m leaving no stones unturned.”
The wage hike is ricocheting. In December, former Pizza Hut driver Michael Ojeda told The Journal that he was told “with little to notice” that his last day would be in February. Ojeda had worked at the restaurant for nearly a decade.
Ojeda’s experience may highlight the fate of other delivery drivers. Pizza Hut and Round Table Pizza franchise owners, for example, are planning to lay off roughly 1,280 delivery drivers this year, The Journal reports.
California has about 500,000 fast food workers. In 2022, the state’s hourly wage for fast food workers was $16.21.
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