The law reflected a carefully crafted compromise between the fast food industry and labor unions, which had been fighting over wages, benefits and legal liabilities for close to two years. The law originated during private negotiations between unions and the industry, including the unusual step of signing confidentiality agreements, KCRA 3 first reported. The law originated during private negotiations between unions and the industry, including the unusual step of signing confidentiality agreements. Starting Monday, qualifying fast food workers in California must be paid a minimum wage of $20 an hour. This is due to a new state law which emerged from a deal between the fast food industry and union leaders. Over the past decade, California has doubled its minimum wage for most workers to $16 per hour.
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Higher prices on the menu as fast-food chains brace for California’s big minimum wage jump
Is the place where minimum wage workers currently earn the most money. This wage is also scheduled for an increase in mid-2023 — beginning July 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Washington, D.C. The state with the current highest minimum wage in the United States is Washington, where minimum wage employees are minimum wages entitled to earn at least $15.74 per hour. While Washington has the highest statewide minimum wage in the country, this doesn’t tell the whole story when it comes to areas where minimum wage employees can earn the most money. Your state may also have different minimum wages for employees who receive tips.
Florida residents will need to wait until Sept. 30, 2023 to see their minimum wage increase go into effect. The nation’s highest state minimum wage for fast-food workers takes effect on Monday. This new law also establishes a Fast Food Council, which can weigh whether to further increase the minimum wage or make other changes in the future. “As an owner or employer, you have to have coverage to pay them. If you cannot, you have to shut your door, or they’re gonna lose hours,” noted Amir Samadi who owns a Round Table Pizza restaurant in San Jose. Bernick explained that for decades, California has been trying, unsuccessfully, to increase the wages of the state’s lowest wage workers. That includes immigrants like Ingrid Vilorio, who said she started working at a McDonald’s shortly after arriving in the United States in 2019.
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Employers’ warnings have left many workers with mixed feelings about the raise, despite the potential for extra spending power. Sandra Jauregui from Sacramento is counting down the days to her first bigger paycheck in two weeks. After 18 years working at several Jack in the Box franchises, her pay will jump from $17.50 to $20.
However, Florida put a plan in place in 2020 to create a path towards a $15 minimum wage. Florida is set to increase the minimum wage by $1 each year until the state reaches a final $15 minimum wage on Sept. 30, 2026. Unlike some states — like California — all employers are required to pay the state minimum wage over the lower federal minimum wage, regardless of how many employees the business has on its payroll with few exceptions. Florida’s current minimum wage in 2023 stands at $11.00 per hour, exceeding the federal minimum wage which is set at $7.25. The increase in Florida’s minimum wage demonstrates the state’s commitment to a living wage.
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With the state’s mandatory minimum wage for fast-food workers set to increase to $20 an hour, many restaurant chains are preparing to raise prices. The research found that after the minimum wage rose from $9.47 to $13 – in the early years of the Fight For $15 labor campaign – workers generally didn’t lose jobs even though they did lose hours. That was the main side-effect a decade ago, when Seattle hiked its minimum wage to $15, research suggests. While Florida has a lower minimum wage than some other states, it’s important to remember that increases in the minimum wage are usually put in place as a response to rising living costs. Minimum wage workers might make more per hour in California or New York when compared to a similar role in Florida, but they may also need to spend more on everyday expenses like housing, food and transportation costs.
- The Jack in the Box worker Jauregui, 52, has been cobbling together two salaries, working about 54 hours a week between the restaurant and a laundromat.
- The law applies to restaurants offering limited or no table service and which are part of a national chain with at least 60 establishments nationwide.
- A big concern over that time was whether the increase would cause some workers to lose their jobs as employers’ expenses increased.
- Also, Flynn has announced he would pay his workers at least $20 per hour.
- Florida is now among a growing number of states that have adopted a $15 minimum wage, including California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Massachusetts.
- However, the Fair Labor Standards Act protects residents in these states with the federal minimum wage.
