Price Hikes, Job Losses in Wake of California’s New Minimum Wage for Fast-Food Workers

Though California’s new minimum wage for the fast-food industry puts more money into some workers’ pockets, it has ignited a firestorm of menu price hikes, mass layoffs, and reduced work hours across the state. After Assembly Bill 1228—signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023—took effect April 1, the minimum wage for fast-food establishments with at least 60 locations nationwide was raised to $20 per hour. Long-term impacts from the wage hike remain to be seen, but immediate actions were taken by some establishments as they sought to keep their doors open. The prospect of higher labor costs resulted in thousands of layoffs across the state, with Pizza Hut and others announcing late last year all delivery drivers in California would lose their jobs before the wage hike took effect....