Iconic burger chain Carl’s Jr. is under increasing financial pressure from both California’s cost of doing business, $20 minimum wage rules and public safety issues that employees allege are spilling into the workplace. Carl’s Jr. has 588 stores in California as of 2025, but that number declined by 25 from 2023, when it had 613 stores in the state, according to internal franchise documents. Last month, a major franchisee filed for bankruptcy, affecting 11% of operations across the state. The doomed franchisee, Friendly Franchisees Corporation, last month explicitly blamed the state’s relatively new $20 minimum fast-food wage touted by the...