California minimum wage for fast food workers raised to $27 an hour

Fast-food workers in California will earn a minimum of US$20 (S$27) an hour and have a greater say in setting workplace standards under a new bill signed into law on Thursday (Sept 28) by Governor Gavin Newsom.

"The future happens here first," Newsom said at an event in Los Angeles, with labour officials and fast-food workers flanking him.

The legislation emerged as part of a broader compromise in which fast-food companies agreed to remove a 2024 ballot referendum asking voters to repeal a law aimed at improving wages and working conditions for employees.

Labour unions, meanwhile, dropped their push to hold fast-food corporations liable for violations committed by their franchisees.

The median fast-food worker in the US earned US$13.43 an hour in 2022, while those in California made an average of US$16.60 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. The new minimum, which takes effect in April, equates to an annual salary of US$41,600.

There are more than 550,000 fast-food workers at 30,000 locations statewide, Newsom said. The majority are the primary providers for their families — contrary to the perception that fast-food workers are teenagers in their first jobs — while 80 per cent are minorities and two-thirds are women, he added.

"We're not just about growth," he said. "This state is about inclusion."

In addition to the higher wages, the law also establishes a "Fast Food Council" including representatives for both workers and employers that can approve further pay increases and set standards for working conditions, in what labour leaders hailed as a historic move.

The overall minimum wage in California is US$15.50 an hour, among the highest of any state. The federal minimum wage, which has remained unchanged since 2009, is US$7.25 an hour, or US$15,080 a year for an employee working 40 hours a week.

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