[5] The act would create a state-run 10-member council to set wage and labor standards across the fast-food industry that would be composed of two state officials, along with representatives from unions, workers, and employers.
One provision also allows a franchisee to sue a restaurant chain if the franchise contract contains strict terms that leave them no choice but to violate labor law.
Among the supporters of the FAST Recovery Act included labor unions and workers in general, which a UCLA and UC Berkeley study finds over 67% of whom encountered a wage theft violation, a further 25% of which received retaliation for their complaint.
A Panera Bread franchise president commented to Fox Business that if he could not pass costs onto consumers sustainably, he would close his restaurants.
A coalition to oppose the legislation, Save Local Restaurants, successfully argued both that referendum effort is well underway and rendering the law unenforceable; Newsom's office attempted to begin enforcement of AB 257 on January 1, 2023, though this was also halted by the Sacramento Superior Court.
The court ultimately ruled that because there was "very little harm" to the public from the law not being enforced now, if the measure gained enough signatures to appear in the 2024 California elections in November, it would become a proposition.