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California Raises Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers to $20, Prompting Technological Shifts

The wage increase has led to a rapid adoption of self-service kiosks and other automation technologies in the fast food industry.

Harsh Ghai said he will putting self service kiosks directly on the front counter of restaurants, like at this burger King location, with the aim to remove registers completely.
An automated screen to select and order your food is shown at a McDonald's restaurant, as California begins a new wage law that applies to fast-food chains with at least 60 locations nationwide to increase their minimum wage to $20 an hour for fast-food workers, in Del Mar, California, U.S., April 1, 2024.
A customer orders food at a kiosk in a Shake Shack restaurant in Larkspur, California, on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
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Overview

  • California's new $20 minimum wage for fast food workers is causing some restaurants to replace staff with self-service kiosks.
  • The wage hike aims to improve living standards but is driving technological changes that may reduce human labor in the industry.
  • Home health-care and personal-care aides remain the largest group of low-wage workers in California, not benefiting from the recent wage increases.
  • High housing costs in California continue to challenge low-wage workers, making it difficult to afford living even with higher wages.
  • The state's minimum wage policy is under scrutiny as it struggles to meet the cost of living in most regions.