California governor now saws Panera is not exempt from fast-food wage increase

Fortune

Starting April 1, most fast-food restaurants in the state must pay their workers at least $20 an hour. But it doesn’t apply to restaurants that have on-site bakeries and sell bread as a stand-alone menu item.

Transcript

00:00 California Governor Gavin Newsom is being accused of exempting Panera Bread from a new minimum wage law to benefit one of his campaign donors.

00:07 Starting April 1st, most fast food chains must pay their employees at least $20 an hour.

00:11 But this rule doesn't apply to restaurants that have on-site bakeries and sell bread as a standalone menu item.

00:16 Newsom never fully explained the reasoning behind this decision, but Bloomberg reported that the exemption was connected to Greg Flynn,

00:22 a billionaire whose company owns 24 Paneras in California and has donated to Newsom's campaign.

00:26 Newsom claims this story is absurd and denies these allegations.

00:30 And Flynn denied asking for an exemption and said he was surprised when it showed up in the final bill.

00:34 Now, the governor's office is arguing that Panera is not exempt from the law,

00:37 and it's raising questions about which baking processes constitute a restaurant as a bakery.

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