The Progressive man who would be King, California Governor Gavin Newsom, is breaking bread and bending laws again.
In September, the Democrat signed into law a minimum wage raise for California’s fast food workers, boosting the hourly rate for their entry-level job from $16 to $20.
But the slick governor has made an exception for Panera Bread after the billionaire owner of several of the restaurant’s chains made more than $160,000 in donations to Newsom’s campaigns.
According to Bloomberg News, there’s “an unusual exemption” to the minimum wage increase “for chains that bake bread and sell it as a standalone item.”
California’s new $20 minimum wage rule will exempt restaurants that sell bread, handing a lucrative break on wages to the Panera chain and one of Governor Gavin Newsom’s longtime allies https://t.co/fvC7QCfTla
— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) February 28, 2024
“Governor Gavin Newsom pushed for that break, according to people familiar with the matter,” the outlet reports.
Greg Flynn, who went to high school with Newsom, is “the billionaire CEO of Flynn Restaurant Group, the company that owns some two dozen Panera Bread locations in the state,” according to the New York Post.
“In 2014, Flynn, who is the largest franchisee in the US with thousands of brands including Applebee’s, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s, acquired a Napa Valley resort that was managed by Newsom’s hospitality firm, according to disclosure forms,” the outlet reports.
He’s donated “at least $164,800 to Newsom’s campaigns.”
“Flynn emerged as a prominent critic of the fast-food bill, known as the FAST Act. In a 2022 opinion piece in Capitol Weekly, a publication covering California politics, he said it would all but kill the franchising business model in the state,” Bloomberg reports. “Behind closed doors, he urged the governor’s top aides to reconsider whether fast-casual chains such as Panera should be classified as fast food, according to people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be named because the talks were private.”
Many have found the exemption puzzling, according to Bloomberg, “especially after the governor told reporters last year that it came about as ‘part of the sausage-making’ of politics.”
“In response to detailed questions, Newsom’s office said the wage law was the ‘result of countless hours of negotiations with dozens of stakeholders over two years’ — and will make a real difference for hundreds of thousands of Californians,” the outlet adds.
On X, few are buying Newsom’s line.
Because that makes sense and isn’t blatant cronyism.
— Grateful Calvin (@shoveitjack) February 28, 2024
CA doesn’t have to be a joke, but here it is, being an absolute joke.
— Slender Mandalorian (@SlenderMando) February 28, 2024
Haha, don’t most restaurants offer bread in some capacity?
— Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) February 28, 2024
Yes, but the exemption only applies to those fast food restaurants that have operated “an on-premise bakery prior to Sept. 15, 2023″ according to one X user, “and the bread must be sold as a stand-alone item.”
This is not meant as a defense of the law. I’m just pointing out that it was written so that most fast-food restaurants cannot take advantage of the same carve out that Panera can.
— Kelley K (@KelleyKga) February 28, 2024
“Can’t start now,” another user wrote.
People say “oh everywhere will just start selling bread now”
Nope! The corruption is even more blatant than that.
The legislation says you had to have a bakery prior to a certain date and the bread must be stand-alone as an item. Can’t start now. https://t.co/Od5FrG6TPj
— Sunny (@sunnyright) February 28, 2024
Wonder why politicians have zero respect and credibility in our world today? Look no further https://t.co/NmNuM7riDA
— Scott Knaack (@Scott_Knaack4) February 29, 2024
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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