Taco Bell is starting off the new decade by attempting to change the way people view fast-food restaurants.
Taco Bell announced on Thursday that it will be testing out a higher salary for general managers at select locations in the Midwest and Northeast. Currently, general managers at company-owned Taco Bell stores make around $50,000-$80,000. Yet, this spike in salary will boost that to $100,000.
The rise in salary isn't the only change the fast-food chain plans to make. Taco Bell will try out a new position for employees that want to gain leadership experience, but don't want to be a manager. It also announced that all employees at company-owned stores will have a minimum of 24 hours of paid sick time a year, starting on Jan. 1.
These changes are in response to the country's current low unemployment rate. Per BloombergQuint, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in November which is the lowest its been since 1969. Also, hourly earning have been on the incline. This has forced Taco Bell to focus on "restaurant performance and employee satisfaction" to increase "recruitment and retention" among its workers.
Additionally, Taco Bell is trying to make the chain more appealing to customers by taking a more environmentally aware approach. It's making all of its packaging recyclable as well as providing vegetarian menu items.
While Taco Bell is trying to better itself for the new decade, one man in Georgia is trying to take full advantage of what the restaurant has to offer. He was caught on camera breaking into a closed Taco Bell. Once he got into the building, he made himself a meal with some of the food and then took a nap. The Gwinnett County Police Department posted footage of the incident to its Facebook page.
