(2) “Fast food
restaurant” shall not include an establishment that on September 15,
2023, operates a bakery that produces for sale on the establishment’s
premises bread, as defined under Part 136 of Subchapter B of Chapter I
of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, so long as it continues
to operate such a bakery. This exemption applies only where the
establishment produces for sale bread as a stand-alone menu item, and
does not apply if the bread is available for sale solely as part of
another menu item.
I am not the sharpest pencil in the drawer, but if I were a holder of a McDonald's franchise I would argue in court that this bill very selectively excludes Subway Sandwich shops (which bake bread and will sell loaves to the customer). The short window for slamming the door shut on that exception (September 15, 2023) suggests it is not because any virtue of baking bread but that an exception was lobbied for and granted; an exception that amounts to regulatory capture that was purchased and gives Subway Sandwich restaurants a significant labor cost advantage over their competitors.
Laws that are written so narrowly as to clearly pick winners and losers are frowned on by many courts.
my bet is the actual drafter(s) have Subway franchises...
ReplyDeleteI will not take the other side of that bet.
DeleteAnd besides, Mickey Dee's doesn't have bread. Instead, they have "bun-like" substance, that is not bread.
Deleteirontomflint
It turns out a big Panera franchiser in California is a Newsom donor and Newsom wanted the bread exception. You can google the news reports.
DeleteRick is probably correct, and re Mickey D's, I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled out of CA entirely. It wouldn't hurt their bottom line is my bet.
ReplyDeleteThing is, Subwichway will have to compete for the same labor pool. so granting them an exception doesn't really mean much in real life. They'll either pay the going rate or not have employees.
ReplyDeleteThe burger joints will have robots on the grills and fry stations soon, there will be hardly any bodies left for the back end except cleaners and stockers.
ReplyDeleteIn Ireland, Subway bread was classified as a confectionery, because of the high sugar content.
ReplyDelete