On Monday, April 1, California’s contentious new minimum wage rise for certain fast restaurant employees will take effect.
Fast food restaurants with 60 or more locations will have to pay employees $20 per hour under Assembly Bill 610. The majority of workers will see a pay raise of 25%, or $4 more per hour.
Small companies that are exempt from salary increases are now concerned that they won’t be able to absorb the additional expenses and remain competitive in the job market.
Patty Cox, the owner of a small business, claims that this is one of the reasons why Pizza Bell in Elk Grove closed.
“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,” Cox stated.
She claims that in addition to rising rent, the expense of food, and the need to pay more competitive wages, this is just one more thing eating into budgets.
“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,” Cox stated.
The union representing these workers, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), projects that the new pay, which is applicable to 3,000 firms, will benefit almost 500,000 Californians.
A few exceptions have been made by Governor Gavin Newsom: restaurants in hotels, airports, and amusement parks will not be subject to the increased pay. Some exclusions include those who work at a grocery store fast food stand and get most of their income from groceries.
With just this frequently asked questions page to refer to for answers, this intricate bill has left many restaurant owners scurrying to meet the deadline and uncertain if it applies to them.
Employees can file a claim with the Labor Commissioner’s Office if they believe their pay is wrong. But processing it can take years if the department is understaffed and has backlogs.
