A referendum to overturn a California law that aimed to regulate wages and workplace conditions in the fast food industry has received enough signatures to qualify for the November 2024 statewide ballot, the Department of State said.
The group championing the initiative, a coalition called Save Local Restaurants, said the initiative drive is evidence that Californians want a say on whether a state-run agency should be created to oversee workplace issues within the industry.
“This legislation singles out the quick-service restaurant industry by establishing an unelected council to control labor policy, which would cause a sharp increase in food costs and push many Californians, particularly in disenfranchised communities, to the breaking point,” Save Local Restaurants said in a prepared statement last month.
John Kabateck, California state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, expressed concern that the passage of the state’s fast food law, Assembly Bill 257, last year could encourage labor unions to press for similar regulations for retailers and auto shops in the state.
“This is clearly the camel’s nose under the tent,” Kabateck told the Northern California Record. “... In midst of record inflation ... and retail theft, the last thing small business owners need are new rules and costs that will send them further down the Covid hole.”
As a result of a civil lawsuit, an injunction was put in place to delay the enforcement of AB 257 beyond Jan. 1 of this year, when it was initially set to take effect.
“We are heartened to see that both voters and the courts have agreed that this terrible anti-small business, anti-entrepreneur law is not going into effect immediately," Kabateck said.
Save Our Restaurants estimates that if AB 257 gets voters’ approval, fast-food restaurants would increase their prices by up to 22%, based on a University of California Riverside study.
Supporters of the fast food law say it would simply allow restaurant workers to better share in the prosperity the industry enjoys in California and gain improved working conditions.