Another California small business and its employees appear to have suffered as a result of the state’s recently passed $20 minimum wage.
“It’s a shock,” Monica Navarro, former assistant general manager at Fosters Freeze in Lemoore, said Wednesday on “The Bottom Line.”
“It would have been nice to have a notice, so we could go get some applications [out], and I could prepare them,” she said. “The best I can do is honestly give them some references.”
When Navarro and her colleagues arrived at work on Monday morning, they discovered that the restaurant’s owner had decided to permanently close its doors. Loren Wright, the owner, told local Fox affiliate KMPH that this was the “last thing” they wanted to do, but they realized by Friday night that the business would most likely be unable to handle the wage increase and didn’t “want to ruin their Easter Sunday.”
The new California statewide legislation went into effect Monday, requiring a $20 minimum wage for eateries with at least 60 outlets worldwide, with the exception of those who make and sell their own bread.
“Two of my coworkers were actually about to clock in for the morning. Right after that, I received a phone call informing me that we were closing. So they found out just as they were ready to check in for the day,” Navarro explained.
“We had gotten a text in the group chat that we were shutting down, and I completely thought it was an April Fool’s joke,” said one of Navarro’s colleagues to KMPH.
After chatting with personnel and Foster’s Freeze’s owner, Navarro discovered that the minimum wage regulation was the key reason for the restaurant’s downfall.
“He blamed it on the minimum wage increase.” However, I believe the number of outlets he personally owns exempted us from the increase. However, he ultimately attributed it to the increase in sales,” she said.
“I can see their objectives with increasing the minimum wage, hoping that it will attract more workers,” the ex-manager added, “but I honestly don’t think it will work. This isn’t the first firm to close. There are already a few local businesses for me that are closing, so I believe this is just the beginning.”
