California Governor Gavin Newsom faced backlash this week after his restaurant continued to offer jobs for $16 per hour despite a new state law that raised the minimum wage for certain workers up to $20 per hour, RadarOnline.com can report.
PlumpJack Café, the restaurant in question, is in Olympic Valley and is reportedly one of several restaurants owned by the company that Newsom founded back in 1992.
The eatery is currently seeking a part-time busser who would “aim to assist the food server” and “ensure guest satisfaction during all aspects of the dining experience,” according to a posting for the job obtained by the New York Post.
But the job posting also noted that the current salary for the part-time busser would be just $16 per hour plus tips.
While PlumpJack Café is not forced to offer the new $20 per hour minimum wage under the new state law, critics questioned why someone would work at Newsom’s restaurant for $16 per hour when they could now score a job for $20 per hour at a fast-food restaurant like McDonald's or Burger King.
“I wonder why [Newsom’s] food businesses don’t pay $20/hour?” GOP Assembly Member Joe Patterson pressed. “Live job posting at $16/hr in Olympic Valley.”
“It’s very, very expensive to live there,” Patterson continued, “but he doesn’t do as he tells others and doesn’t pay a living wage.”
It should be noted that Newsom’s PlumpJack Café was not affected by the new law because the new law only applied to restaurants that offered limited or no table service and restaurants that are part of a chain with 60 or more locations across the country.
PlumpJack Group reportedly only operates four restaurants and bars as well as four wineries, according to the Post, and is therefore below the requisites to meet the new $20 per hour wage minimum.
Newsom’s team also explained that the California governor no longer participated in the day-to-day operations of his businesses and that Newsom placed PlumpJack Group into a blind trust after he was elected governor back in 2018.
“He has no role in any of the holdings that may be held by the blind trust,” Newsom’s team told the Post this week.
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Meanwhile, the new $20 per hour minimum wage for fast-food workers has reportedly resulted in an increase in fast-food prices after the new law went into effect on Monday.
A Burger King in Los Angeles reportedly increased a Whopper meal from $15.09 to $16.89 on April 1 – a change that marked a significant 12% price increase for customers.
“To be honest, I don’t like it, because then everything else goes up,” one California fast-food customer said of the new minimum wage law this week.
“These people have to make a living one way or another,” the customer continued, “but then the restaurants have to up their prices.”