Panera Bread’s California restaurants will raise their hourly wage to $20 in compliance with the state’s fast-food law that goes into effect in April, Bloomberg reports.

The bill had exempted Panera and other chains that bake bread on their premises from raising their base pay from $16 an hour.

The law, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Act (FAST Act), or AB 1228, will lift the minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of fast-food workers in California.

Greg Flynn, who owns 130 Panera stores as well as hundreds of Applebee’s, Taco Bells, Arby’s and more, issued a statement saying his goal is “to attract and retain the best team members to deliver the restaurant experience our guests know and love.”

“Regardless of whether the bakery exemption in AB 1228 applies to our bakery-cafes, California locations owned and operated by Flynn Group will increase all hourly pre-tip wages to $20 per hour or higher effective April 1,” Flynn added.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who pushed for the bill and reportedly oversaw the bread exemption for Flynn, called reports he had made the concession for his long-time acquaintance and supporter “absurd.”

Newsom’s office reviewed the law and concluded Panera would not benefit from the bread carve-out.

“The exemption was never about Panera,” said Newsom’s communications director Erin Mellon. “It was always about defining ‘fast food’ from ‘fast casual.’”

In January, however, Newsom called the exemption “part of the sausage-making” in politics.

Flynn, a steadfast Newsom campaign donor and an alumnus of the same high school as the governor, said he had suggested excluding fast casual restaurants from the minimum wage bill.

The billionaire said he never met personally with Newsom to discuss the bill but “did meet with his staff in a group meeting with other restaurant owners.”

“To be clear, at no time did I ask for an exemption or special considerations,” Flynn said.

• Panera Spared $20 Wage After Donation to Newsom