California Lawmakers Back $20 Wage for Fast-Food Workers (1)

Fast-food chain restaurants across California would have to pay their workers at least $20 an hour under a bill cleared by the state legislature on Thursday.

The measure (A.B. 1228) represents a last-minute deal between the fast-food industry and the Service Employees International Union, which has been campaigning to organize the sector. The Democrat-backed bill heads next to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), whose office has been credited by supporters with helping forge the agreement.

The compromise scraps earlier language in the measure that would have held large fast-food companies like McDonald’s Corp. liable for the labor violations of ...