Assembly Bill 1228 introduced by Chris Holden (D-Pasadena) and enacted on Labor Day 2023 by Governor Gavin Newson will impact 550,000 fast food workers.  The minimum wage for workers will now be $20 per hour and will be subject to escalation in accordance with the decisions of the Fast-Food Council.

The first casualties of the minimum wage law are 1,200 delivery drivers employed by Pizza Hut in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.  Franchises of Pizza Hut will make use of delivery services including DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats adding to the cost of products to consumers.  Would it not have been more convenient and beneficial to the workers and consumers for Pizza Hut to have simply passed on the additional wage? 

By using a third-party delivery company, consumers will obviously pay more for their doorbell ring.  It is possible that many of the displaced Pizza Hut delivery drivers will be employed by the third-party companies who apparently are not obligated to pay the higher rates as mandated by Assembly Bill 1228.  California can therefore expect a new Assembly bill to close any possible workaround of the minimum wage for QSR workers.