California Fast Food Employees Minimum Wage Poster
Under California's AB 1228, qualifying fast-food workers
must be paid a minimum wage of $20.00 per hour. This rate applies to all
mandatory training time and cannot be offset by tips. The requirement for the higher fast-food rate, the
fast-food establishment must meet the following baseline criteria:
• 60+
Locations Nationally: The restaurant must be part of a chain that has 60 or
more establishments nationwide. Small, local drive-thru independent stands are
exempt.
• Shared
Branding: The locations must share a common brand, marketing, packaging, and
standardized menu items.
• Immediate Consumption: The establishment must primarily
offer limited or no table service and sell food and beverages for immediate
consumption.
Notable Exemptions
Under California’s fast-food minimum wage law (AB 1228 and
the follow-up cleanup bill AB 610), several types of restaurants and operations
are specifically exempt from paying the $20.00 per hour industry mandate.
Instead, exempt establishments are only required to pay the
standard California minimum wage of $16.90 per hour (unless a local city or
county ordinance mandates a higher local rate).
• It
operates inside a grocery establishment that meets strict square-footage and
revenue rules.
• It is
located inside an exempt facility such as an airport, commercial ports, transit hub, hotel, event centers, museums, theme park, or
stadium.
• It
operates as a bakery that sells bread as a standalone, house-made item weighing
over half a pound.
The notice currently is available as an English-Spanish bilingual poster. Compliance Posters of America has created a poster to help California fast-food employers comply with this new requirement available in an 18” x 24” format and laminated for durability.
This poster is best used with, and posted right next to, the
two (2) other poster requirements in California for all employers, namely:
1. 2026 California & Federal Labor Law Poster: https://www.compliancepostersofamerica.com/california-and-federal-labor-law-poster
2. 2026 California I. W. C. Wage Order Poster:
https://www.compliancepostersofamerica.com/california-iwc-wage-order-posters
