California’s $20 Minimum Wage Leads 89% of Fast-Food Restaurants to Reduce Hours

The minimum wage for fast-food workers in California jumped to $20 an hour on April 1, a $4 pay bump for 553,000 fast workers.

However, restaurant chain owners raised concerns that the minimum wage increases would hurt their bottom line, and owners have cut workers’ hours, raised food prices, and even shut down some locations.

In June, Rubio’s Coastal Grill announced it was closing 48 restaurants and filed for bankruptcy, citing the minimum wage increase as one of the reasons for its financial troubles.

Now, more than a month after the Mexican restaurants’ announcement, the Employment Policies Institute published a report revealing that 67% of fast-food restaurants said the minimum wage increase will cost $100,000 per location every year. One in four owners said it would cost more than $200,000 per year.

The survey was filled out by 200 business owners across the Golden State. (Read more from “California’s $20 Minimum Wage Leads 89% of Fast-Food Restaurants to Reduce Hours” HERE)