Federal minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour, as it has for years, but in 2024, 25 states either saw their minimum wage increase or expect to increase it by the end of the year. This includes California, which in January bumped its hourly minimum wage from $15.50 to $16. It falls just behind Washington, D.C., and Washington state, at $17 and $16.28, respectively, as the highest statewide minimum wage in the country. The city of Los Angeles is set to increase its minimum wage to $17.28 per hour. Other localities, such as Long Beach, will see wage increases for specialized fields later this year. For many, local and statewide raises signify the hope of livability in some of the most expensive cities in the country. But multiple restaurateurs view raising wages as a financial kneecapping in an industry already surviving on barely-there margins.
Some of the most vocal concerns from the industry arrived with AB 1228: On April 1 the new California law increased minimum wage for fast-food chain workers by nearly 25%, bumping hourly pay to $20 for restaurant locations with more than 60 outposts in the U.S. and affecting an estimated half-million workers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 200,000 of them are employed in L.A. and Orange counties alone. In December hundreds of Pizza Hut franchises announced they would lay off more than 1,100 delivery drivers, shifting to delivery apps like Uber Eats. Many franchisees have already raised prices, while some have begun implementing self-serve kiosks and AI to limit human staff.