WorkforceThe FAST Act would put employees and union proponents on a board that could set wage rates. It would also legislate that franchisors and franchisees are joint employers.
California Legislature photo from Shutterstock
A landmark bill empowering California fast-food workers and unions to significantly influence wage rates and workplace standards was passed Monday by the California State Assembly, signaling a new sort of struggle between chain restaurants and organized labor.
The Fast Food and Accountability and Standards Recovery Act, known as the FAST Act, would also in effect codify that fast-food franchisors are joint employers of franchisees’ staffs, with shared accountability for the licensees’ violation of labor standards. Franchisors have warned that being held responsible for the employment policies and practices of their franchisees would prompt them to reconsider franchising altogether because of the heightened liability.
The main action of the FAST Act would be the creation of an 11-person committee armed with the authority to draft state labor standards for fast-food restaurants. The panel’s purview would extend to safety regulations enforced by the California Division of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH), as well as to wage and worktime rules.
One of the most controversial elements of the bill would be the composition of the Council. The act specifies that the panel would include two fast-food workers; two representatives of a union or other labor...
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