Beginning Monday, many of California’s fast food workers will be earning $20 an hour.
The minimum wage increase will apply to restaurants that have a national chain with at least 60 locations nationwide and offer limited to no table service, according to the Associated Press.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the legislation on Sept. 28. A couple of months later, it was reported that executives at McDonald's and Chipotle would raise prices on menu items to offset the wage increase. At the time, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said the franchise had not decided how much the increase would be.
According to Business Insider, Chipotle Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung told investors in February, “We know we have to take something as a significant increase when you talk about a 20%-ish increase in wages.”
He also said that a final decision hadn’t been made when it came to how much the increase would be.
So how many other restaurants raised their prices following the minimum wage hike? KNX News’ Craig Fiegener put it to the test.
He went to Starbucks where the employees told him the prices of the pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and some coffee drinks increased. For example, the panini increased by 78 cents.
He also went to Carl’s Jr. where employees there told him the prices went up overnight automatically.
At the Wendy’s on Sunset, Fiegener found the maple bacon chicken croissant had gone up 20 cents more.
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