A powerful fast food industry group has filed a lawsuit to halt a landmark labor law intended to protect working conditions for fast food restaurant employees from taking effect on Jan. 1.
The lawsuit takes aim at Assembly Bill 257, or the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law on Sept. 5 — Labor Day — of this year. Also called the Fast Act, the law calls for a 10-member council under the state’s Department of Industrial Relations to potentially raise standards of employment at fast food restaurants and create a minimum wage for the fast food sector as high as $22 per hour in 2023, with capped yearly increases.
The day after Newsom signed the law, an industry group called Save Local Restaurants launched its effort to overturn AB 257, filing a request to circulate a petition to qualify for a voter referendum on the issue, which would halt the current law from taking effect until it landed at the ballot box in 2024.
Save Local Restaurants is backed by more than $20 million from companies like Chipotle Mexican Grill, In-N-Out Burger, Starbucks, and local franchise and trade groups; it’s led by the International Franchise Association, the National Restaurant Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Before a Dec. 5 deadline, the group submitted a raw count of one million signatures to the Secretary of State’s office — far exceeding the required 623,212 certified valid signatures required to challenge the law.
The problem is, those signatures are still being validated by counties, which won’t be finished before the Fast Act takes effect. The law will proceed for the time being, a representative for the Department of Industrial Relations wrote in a letter to Save Local Restaurants on Dec. 27. “If and when the referendum challenging AB 257 qualifies for the ballot, the law will be put on hold.”
Lawyers for Save Local restaurants framed that as an unconstitutional violation of procedure seen in previous referendums. The lawsuit was filed on Thursday at the Sacramento Superior Court of California.
During a press conference Thursday, representatives for the group sounded confident the signature count needed would be reached. The California State Department is currently conducting a random sample verification process. As of Dec. 27, the projected number of valid signatures after 29 California counties have reported their samples is expected to exceed the required number.
Still, representatives for Save Local Restaurants worried that if AB 257 is to take effect on Jan. 1, a fast food council could potentially be seated and begin making regulations before the ballot signatures are verified and the law is halted, resulting in legal confusion. They also view the law in general as possibly setting a national precedent.
The effort to overturn AB 257 is not without controversy. In October, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California Council announced that it had filed complaints with California’s Attorney General and Secretary of State over the referendum, claiming “clear and substantial evidence” of canvassers deceiving voters as part of their signature collection drive. The union alleges signature collectors deceived people into signing the petition by claiming the referendum was to increase minimum wages for fast food employees.
In a statement, SEIU California executive director Tia Orr called the lawsuit by Save Local Restaurants a “cowardly tactic.”
“When corporations fail to halt progressive legislation in the legislature, they pivot to bankrolling ballot measures in an attempt to circumvent democracy and the will of the people. This abuse of the referendum system must stop,” she said
Mario Cortez (He/Him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mario.cortez@sfchronicle.com
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