California voters will have the final say in a contentious debate between fast food workers and their franchisees over a new law that would allow the state to bargain wages and working conditions for counter-service workers across the state.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced Tuesday a referendum against the measure has qualified for the November 2024 ballot.
The measure, known as Assembly Bill 257 and the FAST Recovery Act, would have created a state advisory council to set wages and working standards for the state’s more than half a million fast food employees.
Weber said the referendum needed 623,212 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, which opponents of the measure successfully gathered.
The update comes weeks after a judge put the law on hold after California’s Department of Industrial Relations said it intended to implement the law despite the referendum effort against it.
After passing the legislature this summer with the bare minimum of votes needed, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law on Labor Day. Immediately after, opponents launched the referendum effort against it.
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