A new California law aimed in part at boosting salaries for fast food workers has been delayed for nearly two years following industry resistance. Now, the Democrats who control the state Legislature might have figured out how to raise worker pay anyway.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law last year. It created a 10-member council with the authority, among other things, to increase the state’s $15.50 minimum wage to a maximum of $22 per hour for some fast food workers. Some experts quickly hailed the law as one of the “most significant pieces of employment legislation passed in a generation.”
But unlike in most states, California voters have the power to overturn some laws passed by the Legislature. Business groups who opposed the law gathered enough signatures to qualify for a referendum in 2024. In the meantime, the law does not take effect.