Following the billionaire owner of Panera Bread restaurants making major financial contributions to the California governor, Gavin Newsom signed a bill exempting the food establishment from a new $20 minimum wage raise.

Governor Newsom (D-Calif.) signed a bill into law in September that is meant to increase fast food employees’ minimum pay from $16 to $20 per hour.

[California] fast food workers will have a minimum wage of $20/hour beginning on April 1st—$4 higher than the U.S minimum wage for 2024. This applies to chains with 60 or more locations across the nation, and is effective as of April 1, 2024,
according to ABC 7 News.

However, an important note to point out is that the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Act) has a unique exemption stating, “chains that bake bread and sell it as a standalone item” will not be forced to raise their minimum wage,
according to Bloomberg News.

According to reports, Newsom requested the exemption, which benefits a number of people, including wealthy CEO Greg Flynn of Flynn Restaurant Group, who controls at least 24 Panera Bread establishments in the state.

Bloomberg News also reported that Flynn went to the same high school as Newsom, and that he has given over $164,800 to Newsom’s political campaigns.

According to disclosure forms, Flynn is one of the biggest franchisees in the U.S., with thousands of brands under his belt, including Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Applebee’s, and Pizza Hut. He also purchased a Napa Valley resort run by Newsom’s hospitality
company in 2014.

Flynn denied any involvement with Newsom regarding the addition of the law’s bread exemption.

OAN’s Brooke Mallory
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/calif-panera-bread-owner-donated-over-164k-to-newsom-business-exempt-from-states-new-20-minimum-wage-law/

And I thought the Democrats were defenders of the little guy. LOL