A new law could raise fast-food wages to $22 an hour — and opponents are trying to halt it
Almost as soon as the ink had dried on California's new fast-food labor law, opponents set in motion an effort to overturn it.
A day after Gov. Gavin Newsom's Labor Day signing of AB 257, which could raise the minimum wage for franchise restaurant workers as high as $22 next year, critics filed a referendum seeking to block it until the matter can be put before voters.
The law and the countermeasure have raised questions across one of the state's largest industries. Here's where things stand with the legislation, also known as the FAST Recovery Act, and the latest attempt to halt it.
What is AB 257?
AB 257, also known as the Fast Recovery Act, creates a first-of-its-kind council of workers, corporate representatives, franchisees and state officials with a mandate to set minimum industry standards on wages, working hours and other conditions for fast-food workers statewide.
Proponents describe the experimental new system as a move to boost the power of workers who have little formal recourse for rampant wage theft and poor or unsafe conditions.
Who is against it, and why?
From the start, AB 257 faced heavy opposition from business trade groups,
