A proposed expansion of Los Angeles’ Fair Work Week rules could cover about 50,000 fast food workers, while a new worker survey highlights how immigration fears may discourage employees from reporting wage theft, harassment and unsafe conditions.
Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez says an ordinance he introduced in 2024 to expand worker protections to the fast food industry is expected to return to the full City Council in the coming weeks for a final vote, following two years of opposition from fast food corporations that he says used lobbyists and advertising campaigns to block it. “The status quo is profitable,” Soto-Martínez said.
A survey released by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) and the California Fast Food Workers Union found that fear tied to immigration status is discouraging fast food workers from reporting labor violations. The survey questioned 405 workers across 200 locations in 66 California cities, spanning 35 brands including McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Taco Bell. Eighty-two percent of respondents said workers who fear for their immigration status are less likely to report workplace abuse or malpractice, and 67% said those workers are at greater risk of wage theft specifically. Ninety-four percent said they did not know what workplace benefits or programs were available to them, 63% did not know they had the right to file complaints related to wage theft, harassment, discrimination or safety violations, and 77% said their immigration status would deter them from seeking help after a workplace injury.
Yunuen Trujillo, CHIRLA’s director of worker rights and labor legal services, said the report reflects increased fear among workers combined with more aggressive tactics from employers who use immigration status to intimidate or retaliate against staff.
Documented fears tied to immigration enforcement
The report and related accounts describe specific instances in which employers used immigration status as leverage against workers. In one case cited in the report, a Jack in the Box employee said a store manager threatened to call immigration enforcement after workers raised concerns about suspected wage theft; a coworker reportedly left the store in distress, fearing deportation.
The report noted that this kind of fear affects workers regardless of their actual immigration status, citing a U.S. citizen employee who described colleagues panicking over a threat that did not legally apply to her. Workers surveyed also said fear tied to immigration status discouraged them from filing wage claims with the state or seeking workers’ compensation after on-the-job injuries.
Separately, CHIRLA has reported an increase in immigration-related detentions at U.S. airports in 2026, including of individuals with pending immigration relief applications or valid work authorization, which the organization says has heightened fear among immigrant communities more broadly.
Soto-Martínez’s legislation
The proposal, known as the Fast Food Fair Work Ordinance, would expand the city’s Fair Work Week Ordinance, in effect since 2022 for large retail employers, to cover fast food workers. It would require predictable work schedules, guaranteed paid time off, and mandatory “Know Your Rights” training delivered by independent, community-based organizations rather than employers. The ordinance would apply to more than 2,500 large chain fast food restaurants in Los Angeles and an estimated 50,000 workers.
Soto-Martínez introduced the ordinance in 2024. In April 2025, the City Council voted unanimously to direct the City Attorney’s office to draft the ordinance and to review comparable laws in New York, Seattle and Oregon, narrowly rejecting a proposed amendment from Councilman Bob Blumenfield that would have required a separate economic analysis, after opposition from Soto-Martínez. In March 2026, SEIU Local 721 sent a letter to the council urging a final vote, citing the more than 50,000 fast food workers in Los Angeles who would be covered. Soto-Martínez now says the ordinance is expected to return to the full council in the coming weeks for a final vote.
Business groups, including the Protect LA Restaurant Coalition, have argued the ordinance would raise costs for restaurant owners and lead to higher menu prices or reduced staff hours. Franchise owner Behzad Salehi, who operates Blaze Pizza locations in Northridge and Encino, said he had already cut employee hours by 10% and raised prices in response to California’s $20 minimum wage for fast food workers, which took effect in 2024.
Councilman Curren Price, an original co-author of the 2022 Fair Work Week Ordinance, said the proposal does not raise wages and is based on research already conducted for the original ordinance. Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado also voted in favor of advancing the measure in April 2025.
