--- title: "Fast Food Franchisees and Workers Gather in Sacramento, Clash Over California’s FAST Recovery Act" url: https://burnaze.com/article/9650a3ca-282f-4a2c-be7b-34879fdf0898 source: "1851 Franchise" original_url: https://1851franchise.com/fast-food-franchisees-and-workers-gather-in-sacramento-clash-over-californias-fast-recovery-act-2719497 category: "Franchise Industry" industry: "Franchise Industry" topics: ["Regulation & legal","Operations"] published: 2022-08-23T22:17:00.000Z modified: 2026-11-01T02:10:37.518Z image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/c8cefbc362d91d402e2bff9e86b5246a9800.jpg --- # Fast Food Franchisees and Workers Gather in Sacramento, Clash Over California’s FAST Recovery Act **TL;DR:** California's FAST Recovery Act aims to give workers and unions more influence over wage rates and workplace standards in the fast-food industry, but franchisees and franchisors are opposing the bill due to concerns over rising menu prices and joint employer liability. The bill has sparked a heated debate between fast-food workers, franchisees, and franchisors, with workers arguing that it would protect them from employer abuse and franchisees arguing that it would lead to increased costs and liability. *originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2022-08-23. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/fast-food-franchisees-and-workers-gather-in-sacramento-clash-over-californias-fast-recovery-act-2719497).* ## Story As California’s Assembly Bill 257 or the FAST Recovery Act moves through the state legislature, fast-food restaurant franchisees, franchisors and workers are all taking a stand and making their opinions heard. The bill, which state Assembly members have already approved, aims to give California fast-food workers and unions more influence over wage rates and workplace standards by establishing a council composed of QSR employees, franchisees and corporate brands, as well as government workplace regulators. The 11-person committee would have the authority to draft state labor standards for fast-food restaurants, including decisions around workers’ pay, schedules and safety regulations every six months. “Imagine cooks, cashiers and janitors sitting around the table with owners, franchisees and government officials to set fair standards for pay, hours and working conditions across California’s entire fast food industry,” Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said in a statement earlier this year. This past week, about 100 franchisees gathered at the capitol in Sacramento to try to get state senators to vote the bill down as part of a campaign named Stop AB 257. Many small business owners are expressing concern because of a fear that this bill could result in rising menu prices if it becomes law. The franchisees in Sacramento pointed to recent International Franchise Association (IFA) research that predicted a 20% jump in food prices if the California Senate passes the FAST Act, due in large part to the historic inflationary pressures that have hit many parts of the economy. “Despite record inflation, franchise brands and owners have avoided increasing prices to deliver on their promise of value for customers,” said International Franchise Association President and CEO Matt Haller in a press release. “The FAST Act would be the straw that breaks the camel’s back due to price increases upwards of 40 percent.” Many fast-food workers, on the other hand, are adamantly *for* the bill, arguing that the FAST Act would protect them from employer abuse, including wage theft and sexual harassment. Several workers also gathered in Sacramento this past week to sway senators to vote for the bill. “With AB 257, we would have a more dignified job,” Angelica Hernandez, an activist with the Fight for $15 campaign and long-time McDonald’s employee, told Vox. “We would finally have a voice and have a place where we can make sure that we are setting better standards. It’s sad because we work in a free country, but we’re not free in our job to speak out.” Franchisors in California are primarily concerned about how the AB-257 bill would result in them being considered joint employers, meaning they would share accountability for an individual franchisees’ violation of labor standards. The joint employer discussion has been a point of contention for several years in franchising, with franchisors arguing that it could result in a heightened liability and upend the traditional franchise model, resulting in franchisees becoming employees of a corporation instead of being independent, small-business owners. “The Fast Act is one of the most damaging pieces of legislation to ever impact the franchise business model,” Jeff Hanscom, the IFA’s vice president of state and local government affairs, said in a statement earlier this year. “It will have disastrous impacts to the thousands of franchise restaurants across the state and effectively dismantle the business model.” Assembly Bill 257 must be voted on by Aug. 31. ## Entities - 1851 Franchise (publication) - Franchise Industry (sector) - menu pricing (topic) - McDonald's (company) - California (location) - IFA (company) - Matt Haller (person) - fast food industry (topic) - joint employer (topic) - california legislation (topic) - labor standards (topic) - FAST Recovery Act (policy) --- Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/fast-food-franchisees-and-workers-gather-in-sacramento-clash-over-californias-fast-recovery-act-2719497). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/9650a3ca-282f-4a2c-be7b-34879fdf0898).