Gavin Newsom Facing Minimum Wage Law Controversy

California Governor Gavin Newsom is facing backlash after his state spared one of Newsom's top donors from the Golden State's new $20 per hour minimum wage law.

California's minimum wage, which was raised to at least $16 per hour for all jobs in January, is set to rise to $20 per hour for fast-food workers in April. However, the new law comes with the curious provision of exempting the wage hike for restaurants that sell bread as a standalone item.

A Bloomberg report published on Wednesday, which was based on anonymous sources, claims that Newsom "pushed for" the exemption due to his relationship with billionaire Greg Flynn, the owner of a restaurant franchise group that runs 24 California locations of fast-casual bakery cafe chain Panera.

The restaurateur's relationship with the governor runs deep, according to Bloomberg, which reported that the two men attended the same high school, had at least one business connection in 2014 and that Flynn "has been known to tout his relationship with Newsom."

Flynn also reportedly donated $100,000 to Newsom as he was fighting off a failed Republican recall effort in 2021, before adding another donation of $64,800 to help him get reelected the following year.

In response to Newsweek's request for comment on Wednesday evening, a spokesperson in Newsom's office declined to directly address the Bloomberg claim in an email but said that the minimum wage law "was the result of countless hours of negotiations with dozens of stakeholders over two years."

"Staff in the Governor's Office met with dozens of business owners as well as union representatives, as is expected when policies of this consequence are moving through the Legislature," the spokesperson continued.

Newsweek reached out for comment to Flynn Restaurant Group LLC via online contact form on Wednesday night.

Newsom was denounced on social media over his relationship to Flynn allegedly resulting in the exemption to the wage increase, with several Republicans and other conservatives accusing the Democratic governor of "corruption."

"You have to give money to @GavinNewsom's campaign to get special break$. The corruption is part of their system," former Trump administration official Richard Grenell wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

"Gavin Newsom has been threatened with a recall nearly every year he has been Governor, and each one gaining more traction and support," Fox News contributor Steve Hilton wrote on X. "Californians are done falling for his lies."

"Politicians like Gavin Newsom don't even try to hide their corruption anymore because they know the 'vote blue no matter who' crowd will keep electing them," posted Michael Seifert, founder of Christian conservative online marketplace Public Square.

"Gov @GavinNewsom carved out an exception for Panera from Calif.'s new $20 min wage law because its CEO has been very generous toward Newsom's checking account," @tomselliott posted.

"Don't let the fact that @panerabread is exempted from California's $20 minimum wage because its own [sic] is @GavinNewsom's pal distract you from the reality that it is a terrible law in the first place," posted Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large for Libertarian magazine Reason.

While Flynn's company does own Panera locations that would have been affected by the wage hike if the exemption were not in place, the 24 locations in California represent a relatively small share of the company's holdings.

The Flynn Restaurant Group operates over 2,600 franchise restaurants in locations throughout the country, with brands that include Wendy's, Arby's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Applebee's.