Here's What We Know About Newsom and Panera's Alleged 'Bread Exemption' from California Minimum Wage Hike

According to a California state law set to take effect on April 1, 2024, a restaurant chain with more than 60 locations nationwide that "produces for sale bread as a stand-alone menu item" does not count as "fast food."

The confusing exception led to controversy following a Bloomberg article published on Feb. 28 reporting that the "fast-casual" chain Panera Bread had dodged an upcoming minimum-wage increase for fast-food workers in California to $20 an hour. The article connected the "bread exemption" to billionaire Greg Flynn, a frequent donor to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's political campaigns who owns more than two dozen Panera Bread locations in the state.

In a statement to Politico, however, Newsom spokesperson Alex Stack denied any such a connection played a role in the law and even suggested the exemption would not actually apply to Panera. "The Governor never met with Flynn about this bill and this story is absurd," Stack said. "Our legal team has reviewed and it appears Panera is not exempt from the law." The response came after Newsom received intense criticism over the perceived loophole.

Flynn, a prominent Panera franchisee erroneously described as Panera's "owner" by some sources (including the New York Post and many social media accounts), told Bloomberg he played no part in coming up with the exemption.

Snopes reached out to both Flynn and Newsom for comment, and we will update this story if they respond.

The Fast Food Recovery Act

The law in question has proved quite controversial since its initial proposal in late 2021, and as such, it has been the subject of changes and challenges.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, fast-food workers began striking nationwide to fight for standardized working conditions. In California, lawmakers drafted Assembly Bill 257, sometimes referred to as the Fast Food Recovery Act, which would establish a statewide "Fast-Food Council" that could regulate the industry by issuing standards for wages and working conditions.

In January 2022, the bill narrowly passed in the state Assembly. Over the next seven months, the state Senate made several amendments that lessened the sweeping changes of the original draft, and a revised version of the bill passed in both chambers in August 2022 and was signed into law by Newsom in September 2022. The law would go into effect in April 2024.

Throughout the process, fast-food companies and chambers of commerce pushed back, rallying against the bill by attempting to put a measure on the 2024 ballot to repeal the act. After a year of negotiation between the state legislature and those who opposed the act, Assembly Bill 1228 was passed in September 2023, promising to repeal many parts of the act if the referendum was withdrawn, removing the fast-food council's power over workplace conditions and dropping the proposed minimum-wage increase from $22 an hour to $20 an hour.

The Bread Exception

The provision exempting restaurants that make and sell bread as a stand-alone item from the rules was included in both the 2022 and 2023 bills. The exception, as we mentioned above, is real, and was achieved by not designating such restaurants as fast food. However, Newsom's office has claimed that Panera does not fall under the exception.

According to the Bloomberg article, that exception was lobbied for by both Newsom and Flynn behind closed doors, with Flynn supposedly arguing that Panera's status as a fast-casual chain meant that it was not fast food. The article claims that a compromise with Newsom was reached through the bread exemption, with the explicit rationale being Newsom's "longstanding relationship with a Panera franchisee." These claims were made by a person who wished to remain anonymous because the talks were private. Bloomberg granted that individual anonymity, making it harder to confirm whether the rumor is true.

"That's part of the sausage-making," Newsom said of the exception in a news conference. He mentioned that the exception had been in the original Fast Food Recovery Act, and was included in the second bill because of the "nature of negotiation trying to get a referendum off the ballot."

As reported in Bloomberg, Flynn has donated more than $150,000 to Newsom's campaigns over the years, and the two overlapped by one year at Redwood High School. Flynn told Bloomberg that he had no part in shaping the bread exemption, but he did not comment on his relationship with Newsom.

Sources:

Archive, View Author, et al. Panera Bread Exempt from California Wage Law after Newsom Donation. 28 Feb. 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/02/28/business/panera-bread-exempt-from-california-wage-law-after-newsom-donation/.

Bill Text - AB-257 Food Facilities and Employment. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB257. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Bill Text - AB-1228 Fast Food Restaurant Industry: Fast Food Council: Health, Safety, Employment, and Minimum Wage. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1228. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Bollag, Sophia. "Top Republican Calls for Investigation into Newsom over Panera's Exemption from Wage Law." San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Feb. 2024, https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/newsom-panera-wage-exemption-18694604.php.

Brandon Gillespie, Joe Schoffstall. "Major Gavin Newsom Donor Benefitting from California $20 Minimum Wage Exemption Pushed by Governor: Report." FOXBusiness, 28 Feb. 2024, https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/major-gavin-newsom-donor-benefitting-california-minimum-wage-exemption-pushed-governor.

Cohen, Rachel M. "California Aims to Transform How Fast Food Workers Are Treated." Vox, 15 Aug. 2022, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/8/15/23296481/fast-food-ab257-california-sectoral-labor-unions.

"Fast Food Workers Are Getting a Huge Raise. Will $20 an Hour Become San Diego's New Minimum Wage?" San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2023, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-12-29/fast-food-workers-are-getting-a-huge-raise-will-20-an-hour-become-san-diegos-new-minimum-wage.

"How Panera Bread Ducked California's New $20 Minimum Wage Law." Bloomberg.Com, 28 Feb. 2024. www.bloomberg.com, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-28/panera-bread-exempt-from-california-s-minimum-wage-increase-for-fast-food-worker.

"How Panera Bread Ducked California's New $20 Minimum Wage Law." The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024, https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/how-panera-bread-ducked-californias-new-20-minimum-wage-law/.

"Https://Twitter.Com/Mualphaxi/Status/1762848934202937672." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/mualphaxi/status/1762848934202937672. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

"Https://Twitter.Com/WallStreetApes/Status/1763210313640648778." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1763210313640648778. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Luna, Nancy. "Fast-Food Workers Will Make $20 an Hour in California. Here's Why Panera Bread Was Exempted from the New Law." Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/panera-bread-workers-exempt-from-california-fast-food-pay-increase-2023-9. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

OnLabor. California Fast-Food Workers Secure Big Win in Compromise Deal ✦ OnLabor. 18 Sept. 2023, https://onlabor.org/california-fast-food-workers-secure-big-win-in-compromise-deal.

"Panera Bread Exempt from Following California's New Minimum Wage Law Due to Relationship with Newsom: Reports." KTLA, 28 Feb. 2024, https://ktla.com/news/california/panera-bread-exempt-from-following-californias-new-minimum-wage-law-due-to-relationship-with-newsom-reports/.

TikTok - Make Your Day. https://www.tiktok.com/@untoldamerica/video/7340757304964304170?q=gavin%20newsom%20panera&t=1709223963633. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Twitter, et al. "California Legislature Passes Bill to Protect Fast-Food Workers." Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2022, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-08-29/california-senate-pass-bill-fast-food-workers.

---. "Fast-Food Workers Plan to Strike across California Today for Better Working Conditions." Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-09/fast-food-workers-to-strike-across-california-demand-better-working-conditions.

White, Jeremy. "Facing Backlash, Newsom Says Fast Food Carveout Doesn't Apply to Donor's Company." Politico, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/29/gavin-newsom-fast-food-panera-00144282.

Zavala, Ashley. "California Republicans Want Investigation into Newsom's Ties to Panera Franchisee, New Fast Food Law." KCRA, 1 Mar. 2024, https://www.kcra.com/article/california-newsom-ties-to-panera-franchisee-investigation/60030990.

Updates:

March 1, 2024: This story was updated to include comment from Gov. Gavin Newsom's office and a statement by Greg Flynn.