Update Applicable to:
All employers of fast-food restaurants with 100 or more establishments nationwide in California.
What happened?
On September 5, 2022, Governor Newsom passed Assembly Bill 257 (AB 257), titled the “Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act,” or the “FAST Recovery Act.”
What are the details?
Effective January 1, 2023, AB 257 establishes a Fast Food Council comprised of fast food employees, worker advocates, franchisors, franchisees, and government officials within the Department of Industrial Relations that would set industry-wide standards for wages, working hours, and other working conditions related to the health and safety of fast food workers.
AB 257 also prohibits fast food employers from discharging or discriminating, or retaliating against an employee for any of the following reasons:
Under the law, there is a rebuttable presumption of unlawful discrimination or retaliation if a fast food restaurant operator discharges or takes any other adverse action against an employee within 90 days following the date when the operator knew of any of the employee’s actions above.
Other amendments to the bill include provisions preventing the Fast Food Sector Council from requiring new paid leave benefits for workers or regulating how fast food restaurant operators schedule workers’ hours. Under the new version of the bill, the minimum wage could increase to $22 per hour in 2023 and would be subject to inflationary increases in the future.
For more information, please see the links below:
What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and prepare to make changes to their payroll and benefits policies to ensure they comply with the law by January 1, 2023.
