While pitched as “helping people,” California’s fast-food minimum wage law has a different goal: reshaping the state’s tourism appeal. By making dining out feel more distinctive (and by nudging the market toward small restaurants and local chains) it’s a strategic play to make California a cooler place to visit and eat.

That’s how I’ve interpreted it - because otherwise, it makes little sense why the wage for the same work would vary based on the size of the company.