Judge temporarily blocks California fast food wages law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A judge on Friday temporarily blocked the state of California from implementing a landmark new law aimed at raising wages and improving working conditions for fast food workers.
Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang's order came in response to a lawsuit by restaurant industry groups that are seeking a referendum on the November 2024 ballot in a bid to overturn the law.
The law establishes a 10-member council empowered to set minimum wages as well as standards for hours and working conditions for California's fast food workers.
State and county elections officials are still verifying whether the referendum proposal received enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, a determination expected by the end of January. If that happens, the law would be halted from taking effect until voters weigh in.
In the meantime, the state Department of Industrial Relations said it plans to begin implementing the law on Sunday. That could include clearing the way for appointments to the Fast Food Council. But any wage increases or other changes couldn't take effect until at least October, meaning the law would have no immediate impact on worker pay.
The International Franchise Association and the National Restaurant Association said state law requires the state to sit tight until the status of the referendum is determined. The industry groups submitted more than 1 million signatures from voters in support of the referendum, well above the roughly 620,000 required by state law.
“California bureaucrats, at the behest of special interests, are taking an unprecedented step to violate their Constitution and the will of more than one million voters who asked for the Fast Food Council to be stopped via the referendum process,” Matt Haller, chief executive officer and president of the...
