Fighting for Fair Pay

Fast Food Workers in NY

Click here to complete a short survey to find out if you have a claim for back wages.

New York States requires fast food establishments to pay their workers a minimum wage — which may be higher than the default minimum wages. Fast food workers in NYC must be paid $15/hour. Starting on December 31, 2020, fast food workers outside of NYC must be paid $14.50/hour. Since 2015, the minimum wage for fast food workers has steadily increased.

A fast food establishment is any business that satisfies the following criteria:

  • Primarily serves food or drinks. This includes coffee shops, juice bars, donut shops, and ice cream parlors.
  • Customers order and pay before eating, there’s no full table service, and customers may eat the food in the restaurant, take it out, or it may be delivered.
  • Is part of a chain of 30 or more locations nationally.

Fast food establishments include chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Chipotle, KFC, Dairy Queen, Subway, and Dunkin’ Donuts.

You can read more about the law applicable to Fast Food Workers on the New York State Department of Labor website.  You can also read the law here.

The Fight for $15 and many organizations worked hard across the country to increase wages for fast food workers.

If you are interested in finding out if you have a claim, you can call or text our intake coordinator at 845-663-1648.

If you work in this industry and would like to speak with us about whether you were paid all wages you were owed, please send us the information needed by filling out the Industry Inquiry form.

Industry Inquiry

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