California Fast Food Minimum Wage: Who Gets It

The current rate

The fast food minimum wage has been $20.00 an hour since April 1, 2024, when AB 1228 took effect. That's a separate wage floor from the statewide minimum, which is $16.90 this year. The law also created a Fast Food Council with the power to raise the fast food rate each year and to set other workplace standards.

Which restaurants are covered

Two tests decide coverage, and a restaurant has to meet both (Labor Code 1474):

• Limited-service. Customers order and pay before they eat, with limited or no table service. Counter-service burger, chicken, pizza, coffee and sandwich chains are the typical examples. The restaurant must mainly sell food for immediate consumption.
• A national chain of more than 60 locations. The locations have to share a brand or standardized decor, menu and marketing. Only restaurant locations count; offices and commissaries don't.

Ownership doesn't matter. A franchisee running a single store for a big brand owes the same rate as the brand's own stores. One gray area: the law says "more than 60", but the Labor Commissioner's FAQ says "at least 60". If you work for a chain with exactly 60 locations, ask the Labor Commissioner's Office.

Exemptions

A 2024 follow-up law (AB 610) carved out restaurants in certain settings, even when the chain qualifies. The law doesn't cover a restaurant in, or operated with, any of these:

• Airport
• Hotel
• Event center (stadium, arena, concert hall, convention center)
• Theme park
• Museum
• Casino or card room
• Corporate campus cafeteria serving that company's employees
• Public land under a concession (port, public beach or pier, state or city park, historic district)

Two more exemptions predate AB 610. An establishment that has been baking bread on site since September 15, 2023, and selling it as a stand-alone menu item, is exempt for as long as it keeps doing so. A restaurant inside a grocery store is exempt when the grocery store employs its workers.

Local minimums that are higher

You're always owed the highest wage floor that applies to you: the state minimum, your city's minimum or the fast food minimum. In 2 cities in our data, the local minimum is already higher than the fast food rate, so a covered fast food worker there gets the city rate:

• Emeryville: $20.34 an hour
• West Hollywood: $20.25 an hour

Workers at restaurants the law doesn't cover get their city's minimum where one exists, which is often well above the state rate. The minimum wage by city guide lists them.

The Fast Food Council and future increases

The rate doesn't adjust automatically. The Fast Food Council, a nine-member board of industry, franchisee, worker, worker-advocate and public representatives, can raise it once a year. Any increase is capped at the lesser of 3.5% or the change in the CPI-W inflation index, rounded to the nearest dime. The council can also set different rates by region.

So far the council hasn't adopted an increase; the rate has stayed at $20.00 since it began. Its authority to raise wages ends January 1, 2029. Watch for council meeting notices from the Department of Industrial Relations. We update the calculator when a change is adopted.

Overtime and managers

Fast food workers get the same overtime rules as other California employees: time and a half after 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week, and double time after 12 hours in a day. Because overtime is based on the regular rate, the higher minimum also raises overtime pay, to at least $30.00 an hour.

Salaried managers are a common question. In California, a manager can be treated as exempt from minimum wage and overtime only if they're paid a salary of at least twice the applicable minimum wage for full-time work and mainly do exempt managerial work. For fast food, the Labor Commissioner puts that at $83,200 a year. A "manager" paid less than that, or who mostly works the line, is owed at least $20.00 an hour and overtime.

If you're not getting the fast food rate

Start by checking your pay stub against the rate that applies to you, including any overtime hours. If your employer is covered and paying less, raise it in writing and keep copies of your schedules and stubs. You can file a wage claim with the Labor Commissioner's Office online, by email, by mail or in person, and it handles claims regardless of immigration status. The office lists three years as the deadline for most minimum wage and overtime claims, so don't wait long.

If your employer says you aren't covered, ask which part of the test they're relying on: the chain size, the limited-service definition or a specific exemption. Those are facts you can check, and the checker below walks through each one.

Run your numbers

Our Fast Food Minimum Wage Checker walks through the chain size, limited-service test and exemptions, and tells you which rate applies in your city. For overtime, try the daily overtime calculator.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. If you think you're being paid less than you're owed, contact the Labor Commissioner's Office.