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I am a California restaurant operator preparing for the $20-an-hour fast food wage by trimming hours, eliminating employee vacation, and raising menu prices

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• In April, California fast-food workers will get a bump in pay to $20 an hour under a new state law.
• Two California Pizza Hut franchisees laid off 1,200 delivery drivers ahead of the pay increase.
• A Fatburger operator tells Business Insider how the pay hike is impacting his family-owned stores.

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Marcus Walberg and his family operate four Fatburger franchises in Los Angeles. Over the years, the restaurants have survived economic downturns, state labor laws that increase operational costs, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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But lately, doing business in California "has been more strained now than any time I can remember," Walberg told Business Insider.

The main reason: California fast food workers are getting a big bump in pay to $20 an hour under a new state law that goes into effect in April. That new wage is nearly 30% more than most employers currently pay fast-food workers. The law affects 557,000 fast-food workers at 30,000 restaurants in California.

Fast-food franchisees are bracing themselves for the increased labor costs by trimming staff or implementing hiring freezes.

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