Story at a glance

• California’s Senate is considering the FAST Food Recovery Act.
• It’s a sweeping bill that would standardize wages, working conditions and more for California’s fast-food workers.
• Employers would be prohibited from firing or discriminating against employees that try to exercise rights created under the bill.

California lawmakers have the power to advance legislation that could drastically empower fast food workers in the state, standardizing wages, working hours and working conditions.

The FAST Food Recovery Act, known as AB-257, would resolve longstanding issues in the fast-food industry by imposing minimum standards on wages and other working conditions related to health, safety and welfare of workers. The bill would also prohibit a fast-food restaurant operator from firing or discriminating against any employee for exercising the rights created under the bill.

AB-257 would establish an 11-member Fast Food Sector Council within the state’s Department of Industrial Relations that would set what minimum standards and wages, working hours and other working conditions should be.

However, the bill would be limited to fast food restaurants consisting of 30 or more establishments nationally.

The bill’s text states that for years the fast-food sector has been, “rife with abuse, low pay, few benefits and minimal job security, with California workers subject to high rates of employment violations, including wage theft, sexual harassment and discrimination,...

Read Full Story: https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/accessibility/596369-california-...