Is your fast food employer paying you fairly?

If you are an employee of a fast food restaurant in the State of California, your employer should pay you a minimum wage of $20 per hour. This law (AB 1228) took effect on April 1, 2024.

Here is what to know about it:

Is your employer a fast food restaurant?

An employer in the restaurant industry is considered a “fast food restaurant” when ALL of the following applies:

(1)  The restaurant offers no table service or very little table service to its customers.  Generally, the customer orders food and pays for it before eating it.

(2) The restaurant is part of a restaurant chain of at least 60 restaurants nationwide. Off-site locations used for administrative, warehouse, or food production tasks do not count toward the 60.

(3) Lastly, a restaurant should primarily sell food and beverages for immediate consumption to be considered fast food.

Restaurants such as McDonalds, Jack-in-the-Box, and Taco Bell, and all other that similarly meet the 3 criteria items above, must pay its workers in California the new minimum wage of $20.00 per hour.

Are there any restaurant that are “fast food restaurant,” but are nonetheless exempt from the new law?

Yes. There are some exceptions for fast food restaurants that, even though they meet the criteria above, the lawmakers in California have decided to exclude them from the application of the new minimum wage law.

For example, fast food restaurant types that are not considered “fast-food” for purposes of the new law are (1) bakeries, (2) pop-up restaurants that are located inside of grocery stores, but only if the employees of that pop-up restaurant earn their paycheck from the grocery store itself, and (3) restaurants operating in conjunction with a particular location, including an airport, a hotel, or a theme park, are also not covered by the new law. 

There are also some “grey” areas that may be covered. For example, if your employer is a store, and it has a fast food restaurant within the store, and your employer assigns you to work both in the fast food restaurant and in the store, you may be covered by the new minimum wage law for fast food restaurants.

If you believe your employer is a fast food restaurant that meets the 3-criteria mentioned, and it is still paying you below the $20 minimum wage, you should seek legal guidance to understand your rights and whether you may be owe compensation.