After facing backlash for seemingly exempting Panera Bread from the new California minimum wage law, Governor Gavin Newsom stepped out in the spotlight to deny these allegations and clarify what the new minimum wage law really means for California businesses.
The law redefined the minimum wage requirements for California fast food businesses, upping the minimum wage to $20. It is set to come into effect on April 1. The law does not apply to businesses that sell bread as a stand-alone menu item, but it does apply to businesses that sell bread as part of another menu item.
About a week ago, Newsom was met with allegations claiming that this new California law was unfairly exempting Panera Bread because one of Newsom’s former classmates and campaign donor, Greg Flynn, is an owner of Panera Bread franchises. A report released by Bloomberg angered additional Californians as it stated that Flynn had been urging Newsom’s team to reconsider labeling fast-casual chains as fast food, and this is what prompted Newsom to support the idea of this new minimum wage law.
In an email sent Thursday afternoon by Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Newsom, Bloomberg fabricated the entire story since Newsom never had a meeting with Flynn involving this discourse. In his email, Stack clarified that the law, which requires that the minimum wage at fast food places be $20, has been reviewed by Newsom’s legal team and they’ve come to the consensus that Panera Bread is not exempt from said law.
Panera Bread does produce bread as a stand-alone item available for purchase, leading many to believe they were exempt from this new law. Stack clarified that the bakery exemption only applies to those who both produce and sell bread on their business premises and because Panera Bread mixes their dough on off-site grounds and then ships that dough to their establishments for baking and selling, the law, AB 1228, does not exempt Panera Bread. Still, the law does not define what it means to produce bread, making its regulations still unclear for many.
Flynn released a statement to KCRA news stating that although he opposed the new minimum wage law, he never tried to get Panera Bread a special exemption from this law. He stated that he didn’t organize a meeting with Newsom but had organized a meeting with the governor’s office in which he tried to exclude “fast-casual” sit-down restaurants.
Stephanie Wu, an Eleanor Roosevelt High School junior, still thinks that Newsom’s law showed favoritism.
“I think the situation is both ridiculous and obvious because there should be absolutely no reason to have any exemptions in this law in general,” Wu said. “To single out bread and bakery items is clearly showing favoritism towards his friend with barely an attempt to hide it.”
Maria Quintero also views this law as biased.
“He definitely did it to benefit his friend, which is not okay! It should be equal for everyone. All companies, all employees,” Quintero said. “Government is so corrupt, it’s quite disgusting actually.”
