UC Santa Cruz Study Flags Job and Hour Losses After California $20 Fast‑Food Wage

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz report that California’s April 2024 hike to a $20 hourly minimum wage for fast‑food workers has been followed by what they call “negative outcomes,” including reduced employee hours, widespread elimination of overtime and benefits, higher menu prices, and accelerated adoption of automation to replace labor. The study is echoed by a Berkeley Research Group analysis using Bureau of Labor Statistics data that found roughly 10,700 jobs lost in the state’s fast‑food sector between June 2023 and June 2024 and about a 14.5% jump in prices at affected restaurants after the wage took effect. Despite those findings, Los Angeles has enacted a phased increase to $30 an hour for hotel and airport workers by 2028, and a hotel‑industry study there estimates about 6% of hotel jobs—around 650 positions—have been cut or are expected to be cut since the new ordinance began in September. The report also lands as advocates in Oakland push for a $30 citywide minimum wage and New York City council members advance a proposal to raise the city’s minimum to as much as $30 by 2030 for large employers, prompting warnings from business owners and allied economists that such moves could trigger similar cuts in jobs and hours. The research is already circulating in policy and business circles online as ammunition in the broader national fight over how far and how fast to raise minimum wages in high‑cost U.S. cities.