LA's New Plan For Fast Food Workers' Benefits Would Drive Up Costs, Restaurants Say

LOS ANGELES, CA — Three months after fast food workers in California became some of the highest paid in the country, the Los Angeles City Council is weighing whether to give those workers more benefits and protections — a proposal that's already earning pushback from restaurant owners.

The Fast Food Fair Work ordinance, introduced Tuesday by Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez, is meant to give workers more stability and consistency in scheduling, a boost in sick time and education around their rights.

"What we're introducing today is to bring respect to some of the folks who haven't traditionally had it through our city laws," Soto-Martínez said at a news conference.

The proposal, which will be considered by a council committee before going before the full council for a vote at a future date, expands the scope of the city's Fair Work Week law.

The 2022 ordinance requires retail employers to give their employees advanced notice of their schedules. That kind of flexibility, often a given for white-collar workers, can be rare for lower-wage workers, whose variable schedules mean they often have difficulty planning for appointments, child care and other obligations, advocates say.

Soto-Martínez's proposal would expand the 2022 law to include around 2,500 fast-food chain outlets that employ some 50,000 workers, according to his office.

In addition to requiring fast-food employers to give workers at least 10 hours rest between shifts (or provide time-and-a-half pay), the proposal would provide fast-food workers an hour of paid time off for every 30 hours they work, in addition to the state-required minimum sick time; and establish mandatory six-hour paid training to educate workers on their rights.

“The 50,000 of us who stand to gain important protections on the job through this ordinance are not just fast-food workers, we are parents, grandparents, students and providers,” Jack in the Box worker Anneisha Williams said in a statement from the California Fast Food Workers Union, which is backing the proposal, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The plan is also backed by the LA County Labor Federation.

The Shift Project, an initiative from Harvard University and UC San Francisco focused on service-sector workers, found that many of those workers reply on just-in-time and on-call scheduling practices that are designed to minimize labor costs by allowing managers to align staffing with consumer demand. The practices leads to psychological distress, poor sleep quality and unhappiness for workers, according to a paper published by the project.

The proposal was met with quick pushback from restaurant industry groups, including the Save Local Restaurants coalition, which includes restaurant owners, business groups and fast-food brands. They say the proposal would threaten the viability of restaurants and drive up food costs.

"Nearly a decade ago, I opened my first Jersey Mike's franchise to build a future for my family and leave a legacy and a strong business for my children. I'm worried it's now in jeopardy," Juancarlos Chacon, who owns nine Jersey Mike's locations in Los Angeles, said in a statement. "Since the higher state minimum wage set in, I've had to raise my menu prices and cut employee hours to make ends meet."

In 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1228 into law, which created a statewide Fast Food Council and established a $20 per hour minimum raise for fast food workers. The law went into effect in April.

According to Soto-Martinez's office, California's fast food industry has gained roughly 10,600 new jobs as a result of the law.

City News Service contributed to this report.