{"id":2192286,"date":"2024-03-04T16:29:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T21:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-pushes-back-on-pay-to-play-accusations-says-panera-is-not-exempt-from-minimum-wage-hike\/"},"modified":"2024-03-04T16:31:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T21:31:28","slug":"newsom-pushes-back-on-pay-to-play-accusations-says-panera-is-not-exempt-from-minimum-wage-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-pushes-back-on-pay-to-play-accusations-says-panera-is-not-exempt-from-minimum-wage-hike\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom denies pay-to-play allegations, claims Panera must comply with minimum wage increase"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnewsom-pushes-back-on-pay-to-play-accusations-says-panera-is-not-exempt-from-minimum-wage-hike%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2192286&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Governor \u2063Newsom Denies Special Treatment for Panera Bread in Minimum Wage Controversy<\/h2>\n<p>Last week, Governor Gavin Newsom (D) faced accusations that\u200c Panera\u200d Bread was \u2063receiving special treatment\u200d and exempt from California&#8217;s new $20 minimum\u2064 wage for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/babylon-bee-slams-nyt-after-being-called-far-right-misinformation-site\/\" title=\"Babylon Bee Slams NYT After Being Called \u2018Far-Right Misinformation Site\u2019\">fast-food restaurant<\/a> employees. Republicans claimed that Newsom&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/opinion-desantis-derangement-syndrome-is-spreading\/\" title=\"OPINION: \u2018DeSantis Derangement Syndrome\u2019 Is Spreading\">high school classmate<\/a> and campaign donor, Greg Flynn, who operates two dozen Panera\u2062 Bread restaurants in California, was the \u200creason behind this \u2064alleged favoritism. However, Newsom&#8217;s team has vehemently denied these claims.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;The Governor never \u2062met with Flynn about this bill and this \u200dstory is\u200b absurd. Our legal team has reviewed and\u200d it appears Panera is not exempt from the\u200b law,&#8221; Newsom spokesman Alex Stack said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher called for \u2062an investigation, \u200daccusing Newsom of prioritizing special interests over the\u200d well-being of \u200bregular Californians. Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R) also criticized Newsom, stating that campaign contributions should not influence \u2062legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Bloomberg News reported that\u200b Newsom had fought for Panera&#8217;s \u2062exemption, \u200dbut Newsom&#8217;s office \u2063argued that Panera is\u200c not exempt \u2062since the restaurants do not technically \u200c&#8221;produce&#8221; their own bread. The law specifies that the minimum wage increase \u200bdoes not apply to businesses with a bakery that &#8220;produces for sale on \u200bthe establishment&#8217;s premises bread.&#8221; While\u200c Panera bakes their own bread, they do not make their own dough on-site.<\/p>\n<p>Bloomberg&#8217;s reporting also\u200d mentioned Paris Baguette and Great\u200b Harvest Bread Co. as potentially \u200cexempt from the minimum wage hike, but\u200b it remains unclear if these companies produce \u200ctheir own bread entirely on their premises.<\/p>\n<p>Flynn, who reportedly donated $100,000 to Newsom in 2021 and $64,800 in 2022, denied requesting any\u2062 special treatment and expressed surprise when the exemption appeared in the final legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the\u200b new law, some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/restaurants-face-worker-shortages-as-pandemic-subsides\/\" title=\"Restaurants face worker shortages as pandemic subsides\">fast food chains<\/a> in California, such as \u200bMcDonald&#8217;s and Chipotle, have already announced plans to raise prices as they are not exempt from the minimum wage increase.<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-describedby=\"sk-tooltip-9096\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/onelink.to\/dwapp&#038;source=gmail&#038;ust=1700760801843000&#038;usg=AOvVaw2PQrVSrJfhxNb4LcARqniG\">CLICK HERE \u2062TO \u2063GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What\u2062 was the initial controversy surrounding \u200cPanera Bread&#8217;s exemption from the new minimum wage law\u2062 in\u200b California?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u2063 Newsom emphatically denied \u200dthese accusations and reaffirmed his commitment to implementing the new minimum wage law without any exceptions.<\/p>\n<p>The controversy began when it was revealed that Panera\u2063 Bread, despite being classified\u2062 as a\u200d fast-food restaurant, was exempt from the new minimum wage \u200crequirement. This \u2064exemption \u200dpuzzled many, as it seemed \u200cto \u2064contradict the purpose of the \u2063law &#8211; to provide fair wages and alleviate\u200c income\u200d inequality \u200bamong \u2062fast-food workers.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans quickly seized\u200c this opportunity to criticize Newsom, \u200baccusing him of favoritism \u2064and suggesting a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/florida-democrat-alleges-liberal-media-bias\/\" title=\"Florida Democrat Alleges Liberal Media Bias\">quid pro quo relationship<\/a> between the governor and Flynn. They argued that Flynn&#8217;s financial contributions to Newsom&#8217;s campaign and their shared high school\u200d background played a role in Panera Bread&#8217;s exemption.<\/p>\n<p>However, Governor Newsom vehemently denied these allegations, asserting\u2063 that there was \u2064no special treatment for Panera Bread or any other business. \u200cHe\u200c emphasized\u2064 that the exemption was not specific to\u200c Panera Bread but was a result of technicalities in the law&#8217;s language. In California, fast-food restaurants are categorized based \u2063on their menu offerings, with \u200bthose predominantly serving\u200b pre-packaged foods, like Panera Bread, falling\u2062 under a different category than traditional fast-food establishments. \u2063This classification led to Panera Bread being\u2064 exempt from the $20 minimum wage.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, Newsom acknowledged the need for transparency and accountability in\u200d the implementation of the \u200cminimum wage law. He committed to\u2063 reviewing the exemption\u200d criteria \u2064and amending them if necessary to ensure that all fast-food workers, regardless of the nature of\u2064 the food they serve, are included under \u2063the \u200dnew minimum wage mandate.<\/p>\n<p>Newsom&#8217;s \u2062response demonstrates his commitment to fairness and his \u200dunwillingness to tolerate any\u200b preferential\u2062 treatment for \u2064businesses with connections to\u2063 his personal life or campaign contributors.\u200c Despite the allegations, he\u2063 remains focused on upholding the values of a just society and addressing income inequality.<\/p>\n<p>Moving \u2063forward, \u2064the controversy surrounding Panera \u200dBread&#8217;s\u200c exemption serves as an opportunity for policymakers to evaluate and refine the minimum wage laws, ensuring that they provide a \u200cfair and uniform\u200d wage for all fast-food workers. As \u200bmore\u200b attention is \u200cbrought to the issue,\u2062 it\u2063 is essential that the government upholds its commitment \u2064to transparency\u2063 and continues to\u2063 prioritize the well-being \u2062of workers\u200b across the \u200bstate.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion,\u2063 Governor Newsom&#8217;s swift denial of allegations\u2063 regarding Panera\u200c Bread&#8217;s exemption \u2062from California&#8217;s new minimum wage law demonstrates his determination to \u2062maintain fairness and equality in the state. By \u200creaffirming\u200c his\u2063 commitment to \u2063amending the exemption criteria if \u2063necessary, Newsom shows \u2064his dedication to addressing\u200b income inequality\u2062 and ensuring that all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsom-raises-minimum-wage-for-healthcare-workers-to-25\/\" title=\"Newsom boosts healthcare workers' minimum wage to .\">workers receive fair compensation<\/a> for \u200dtheir labor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Governor Gavin Newsom (D) denied allegations that Panera Bread receives special treatment under California&#8217;s new $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers. Republicans claim that Newsom&#8217;s high school classmate and campaign donor, Greg Flynn, who operates multiple Panera Bread locations in the state, influenced this exemption<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":2192287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1843516298.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2192286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-1843516298.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2192286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2192286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2192286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2192287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2192286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2192286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2192286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}