Minimum wage violations are on the rise in fast food restaurants across Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, according to a recent report by researchers from Northwestern University and Rutgers University. The study found that at least one in four workers was illegally paid below the minimum wage in 2024, resulting in an average loss of nearly $3,500 per victim and totaling $44 million annually in lost wages throughout the region.
Daniel J. Galvin, director of the Workplace Justice Lab @ Northwestern University and lead author of the report, stated, “When low-wage workers are underpaid by even a small percentage of their income, they face major hardships such as being unable to pay for rent, afford childcare or put food on the table.” He emphasized the importance of fast food workers understanding their rights and how to exercise them.
The Workplace Justice Lab analyzed federal data from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Statistical Area over a 15-year period. Their findings indicate that minimum wage violations have steadily increased across all service-sector industries as wages rose from $10 in 2016 to $16.50 statewide and $17.28 in Los Angeles. However, fast food workers experienced more dramatic increases in violations with a current minimum wage of $20 statewide.
In 2024 alone, 25% of fast food workers in Greater Los Angeles were illegally paid below minimum wage—a rate over eight times higher than the 3% violation rate recorded in 2009. An estimated 12,660 fast food workers experience wage theft annually but many do not report it due to various barriers.
Jake Barnes, research program manager at Rutgers University and co-author of the report said: “The City of Los Angeles and the State of California have enacted a number of key protections for workers in recent years, but these laws hold far less weight if workers do not understand how they are impacted by them.” He advocates for "know your rights" training sessions for fast food employees to ensure they are aware of their workplace rights.
Eva Rodriguez and Julieta Garcia are among those affected by these issues. Rodriguez has worked at Subway for over eleven years and claims her employer required unpaid labor hours while threatening immigration retaliation when she attempted to assert her rights. Garcia shared similar experiences working at Pizza Hut where she faced multiple forms of wage theft impacting her ability to pay bills on time.
The findings underscore ongoing challenges within Los Angeles’ fast-food sector related primarily due factors like high employee turnover rates combined with prevalent franchise models leading into insufficient union representation amongst immigrant-heavy workforce segments unaware about legal entitlements available under existing legislation frameworks set forth both locally & statewide levels alike!