California Fast Food Workers are Already Protected by the Nation’s Strongest Labor Laws

Background

California just established a new statewide Fast Food Council charged with developing minimum standards for wages, benefits, training and workplace protections. It makes no sense for the City of Los Angeles to pass a duplicative and potentially conflicting city ordinance that will further strain local restaurant owners before the Fast Food Council even has a chance to work as intended.

California already has the most robust worker protections in the country—for fast food workers and all employees—including in the very areas this costly ordinance seeks to address.

Know Your Rights

Under California law, all employers, including local restaurants, are required to provide each employee with a detailed written notice of their workplace rights and protections upon hire—including how to file a complaint or seek help. These notices include:

  • Notice to Employee:

    Labor Code section 2810.5(b) requires employers to provide employees written notice of their rate of pay, overtime rate of pay, designated paydays, right to five days of paid sick leave, and information related to workers’ compensation. Must be provided upon hire and within 7 calendar days of a change in information set forth in the notice. Employees must acknowledge receipt by signing the notice.

  • California’s Fair Employment and Housing Council Anti-Harassment Policy:

    California Code of Regulations section 11023(b) requires employers to develop and distribute a Workplace Harassment, Discrimination, and Retaliation Prevention Policy in writing to all employees upon hire or as a standalone policy. The policy must establish a complaint mechanism that does not require an employee to complain directly to their immediate supervisor. Employees must confirm receipt of the Anti-Harassment Policy by signing an acknowledgement form.

  • Lactation Accommodation Policy:

    Provides employees information on their right to request lactation accommodations in the workplace, the process of making such requests and the employer’s obligation to respond. Must be provided upon hire and when an employee makes an inquiry about or requests parental leave.

In addition to written notices provided upon hire, local restaurants are also required to display written notices outlining employee rights and protections—including how to file a complaint or seek civil remedies—in a location that can be easily seen and read by all employees. These notices must be made available in multiple languages to accommodate employees’ needs:

Under California law, all employers are required to provide each employee, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, a detailed accounting of their compensation and deductions during the given pay period, including gross wages earned, total hours worked, rate of pay, overtime rate of pay, pay period dates, and itemized deductions for taxes, insurance, and retirement contributions.

The City of Los Angeles requires employers to display two additional written notices detailing employee rights related to wages, paid sick leave, retaliation and discrimination based on criminal history— including how to file a complaint —in a location that can be easily seen and read by all employees. These notices must be made available in multiple languages to accommodate employees’ needs:

California Fast Food Workers Already Undergo Extensive On-the-Job Training

Training

California’s new statewide Fast Food Council is specifically charged with developing minimum standards on training for fast food workers.

California employers are already required to provide extensive training for workers, including:

  • Sexual Harassment Training —Source: Code § 12950.1(a).

    California employers with 5 or more employees must provide at least 2 hours of classroom or interactive training/education on sexual harassment to all supervisory employees and at least hour of classroom or interactive training/education to all nonsupervisory employees.

  • Workplace Violence Prevention Training —Source: Cal. Lab. Code § 6401.9(e).

    This mandatory annual training must include topics such as how to report workplace violence incidents or concerns to the employer or law enforcement, workplace violence hazards specific to the employees’ jobs, how to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence, and strategies to avoid physical harm. The corresponding workplace violence prevention plan must be kept in writing and easily accessible to employees at all times.

  • Injury and Illness Prevention Program —Source: Cal. Lab. Code § 6401.7(a)(4).

    Cal/OSHA requires every employer to maintain a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program, which must include, among other things, an “occupational health and safety training program designed to instruct employees in general safe and healthy work practices and to provide specific instruction with respect to hazards specific to each employee's job assignment.”

  • Food Handler Training and Certification —Source: Cal. HSC Code § 113948.

    All employees that handle food are required to complete an accredited food handler training program within 30 days of starting their job to protect both themselves and the public. Employers are required to pay for the food handler training and exams, as well as the time it takes to complete the program, on behalf of their employees.