Sacramento, CA — Legislation signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Sept. 5 authorizes the creation of a council charged with establishing minimum standards on working conditions, hours and wages for fast-food workers statewide.

Under the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (A.B. 257), members of the 10-member Fast Food Council at the Department of Industrial Relations would include representatives from state agencies, employers and worker representatives “to ensure an all-inclusive approach” intended to “resolve long-standing issues in the fast-food restaurant sector,” according to a press release from Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), who sponsored the bill and is a former fast-food franchisee.

“California is committed to ensuring the men and women who have helped build our world-class economy are able to share in the state’s prosperity,” Newsom said in a separate release. “Today’s action gives hardworking fast-food workers a stronger voice and seat at the table to set fair wages and critical health and safety standards across the industry.”

Anneisha Williams, one of the 550,000-plus fast-food workers in the state and a leader in efforts to advance industry worker rights, celebrates the measure.