In January 2022, the California State Assembly voted in support of a first-of its-kind labor bill, known as the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act). The FAST Act establishes an independent council to set industry-wide labor standards on wages, hours, schedules, and other working conditions relating to health and safety for Fast Food workers in the state. The bill also makes businesses jointly liable for any labor violations among their franchisees. The standards set by this council would have widespread impacts, affecting around half-a-million workers in the state.
This brief harnesses data from 2,034 California service sector workers surveyed by the Shift Project between the spring of 2021 and spring of 2022 to compare the wages and working conditions of Fast Food workers and other service workers in the state.