Reference to the CFA’s Advocacy Update from September 8, 2022

On Labor Day, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Act).

The new law authorizes the creation of the Fast Food Council comprised of unelected and unaccountable representatives from labor and management to set minimum standards for workers in the fast food industry, including for wages, conditions related to health and safety, security in the workplace, the right to take time off from work. The “Fast Food Council” that would have regulatory authority over California locations of national counter service restaurants.

According to analysis from the IFA, the legislation, which singles out the quick-service restaurant industry and the franchise business model, stands to increase prices as much as 20% at impacted restaurants and harm local businesses, without improving existing worker protections in the state.

Industry response

Restaurant owners and franchisers opposed the law, citing an analysis they commissioned by the UC Riverside Center for Economic Forecast and Development saying that the legislation would increase consumers’ costs.

The International Franchise Association called it a “fork in the eye” of people who run restaurant franchises and said it could raise consumer prices as much as 20%.

“This bill has been built on a lie, and now small business owners, their employees, and their customers will have to pay the price,” IFA President and CEO Matthew Haller said in a statement. “Franchises already pay higher wages and offer more opportunity for advancement than their independent counterparts, and this bill unfairly targets one of the greatest models for achieving the American Dream and the millions of people it supports.”

Click here to read the IFA press release.