this post was submitted on 29 Feb 2024
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12541208

Panera Bread is exempt from following one of California’s newest laws, according to multiple reports. The new law will raise fast-food workers’ minimum wage to $20 per hour and will take effect beginning April 1.

The new law doesn’t recognize places that operate “a bakery that produces for sale on the establishment’s premises bread” as fast food, according to the law’s text.

Why the line was drawn at bread remains unclear.

However, Newsom pushed for the exemption, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. One of the primary beneficiaries of the exemption is Greg Flynn, a billionaire and longtime Newsom donor who has two dozen Panera Bread locations in California.

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[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 132 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I look forward to McDonald’s new fresh baked bread offerings.

[–] toolverine@lemmy.world 37 points 6 months ago (1 children)

In the South, McDonald's does offer scratch made biscuits. They're so good.

They're even better when the workers that make them can have at least minimum wage.

[–] NateNate60@lemmy.world 10 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Which, in the South, is usually half of what it is in California

[–] Breezy@lemmy.world 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

To be fair in California everything is double the price, plus everything also gives you cancer.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

This sticker is known to the state of California to cause cancer. (Puts sticker on cancer warning sticker.)

[–] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

How is the cost of living in comparison?

[–] clover@slrpnk.net 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

In most of South Carolina you can still find houses for $100-150k.

[–] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 6 months ago

Which it’s 1/4-1/10 of the base price for houses in CA.

[–] laurelraven@lemmy.blahaj.zone 77 points 6 months ago (3 children)

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out if Panera workers aren't even making as much as McDonald's workers... I suspect they'll either pay it in spite of the exemption or be forever understaffed

[–] danciestlobster@lemmy.world 49 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yeah I can't imagine being the literal lowest paying company in town will do them any favors

[–] laurelraven@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 6 months ago

Right?

I wonder how much they paid to keep from having to pay their workers a living wage... And then likely wind up having to anyway if they want to have enough staff to operate...

[–] RamblingPanda@lemmynsfw.com 27 points 6 months ago

That or McDonald's starts focusing on baking bread.

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 7 points 6 months ago

”NoBoDy waNTs tO wOrK anYMOrE!"

  • Panera owners, soon
[–] Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com 65 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Donuts, bagels, 85°, bahn mi shops, heck Safeway/Lucky's/Walmart?

That's a lot of exclusions and a LOT of already screwed over employees not getting a break.

I wouldn't have a problem at all if every Californian baker joined a bakers union and stopped production.n

[–] Plastic_Ramses@lemmy.world 59 points 6 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)
[–] Seasoned_Greetings@lemm.ee 36 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Depends on what degree the "on site bakery" needs to resemble an actual one.

I can see mcds adding a glass window with some muffins and calling that a "bakery" just to skirt the law.

[–] Test_Tickles@lemmynsfw.com 0 points 6 months ago

And don't forget any place that toasts your bread. Basically, all a place needs is a toaster oven and suddenly they are exempt.

[–] jballs@sh.itjust.works 34 points 6 months ago

"Sir, I ran the numbers. We can expand the restaurant to add ovens for the bakery to sell fresh bread. It'll cost us $2,000,000 for the expansion and we're projecting to lose half a million a year in operating costs. Or we can just pay our dozen employees an extra $2 an hour, making our employees happier, increasing retention rates, reducing training costs, and all in all just being the right thing to do "

"Good work, Johnson. I want those ovens up and running by Monday."

[–] TinfoilBeanieTech@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

put an easy bake oven next to the microwave, make one batch a day.

[–] xenoclast@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago

Ding ding ding. Give this person a fresh pastry.

[–] AshMan85@lemmy.world 56 points 6 months ago

What the actual fuck in corruption!

[–] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 46 points 6 months ago

sounds like every business in california is gonna start making and selling 1 loaf of bread every day because of blatant corruption

[–] themeatbridge@lemmy.world 41 points 6 months ago

Why should bakers make less than french fry cooks?

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 36 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Lol they'll lose their employees faster than it takes to bake bread if every other business is paying more.

[–] brianorca@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Until every other company figures out how to make and sell bread. "Would you like a McLoaf with your order?"

[–] wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee -3 points 6 months ago

This is the problem with crappy laws. McDonalds bakes rolls which are bread.

I thought the bakery exemption was weird.

[–] LemmyKnowsBest@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

still a tricky debacle because there's no guarantee McDonald's will hire a former Panera employee, if McDonald's is not hiring because other positions are already full, including all customer orders taken from a robot kiosk.

[–] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 6 months ago

McDonald's and Carl's Jr have been trying to replace employees with robots for orders for a very long time. They've never had much success because old people suck at using these kiosks and don't even bother trying

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 23 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

It’s are article written by a bot? All the links feel like the trash sources that GPT4 tries to grab.

[–] HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social 22 points 6 months ago

God damn it, Newsom. Do better.

[–] NutWrench@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago

When you're a billionaire, laws are nothing more than recommendations.

[–] BlackNo1@lemmy.world 16 points 6 months ago

i hate the usa so much

[–] jpreston2005@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago

Sounds like Greg Flynn got his moneys worth.

[–] IdiosyncraticIdiot@sh.itjust.works 10 points 6 months ago

Newsom corruption? I would have NEVER guessed clutches pearls

[–] NutWrench@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

California’s minimum wage is $16 per hour. Starting April 1, most fast-food restaurants must pay their workers at least $20 an hour under new legislation that Newsom signed last year, **but it does not apply to restaurants that have on-site bakeries and sell bread as a stand-alone menu item, **The Associated Press reported.

Panera doesn't make jet engines, either. WTF does that have to do with wages?

[–] RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

He's from St. Louis?

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Welcome to California. The most liberal state.

As long as you have a net worth more than 10 million USD...