Chick-fil-A Franchise Fined for Paying Workers in Food

A Chick-Fil-A franchise in Hendersonville, North Carolina is in trouble.

The store is accused of illegally paying some workers with meal vouchers instead of wages. Also, according to The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), this store location also violated child labor regulations by allowing teenagers to do hazardous work. 

After an investigation, the DOL fined the Chick-fil-A franchise $6,685. According to CBS News, “certain employees were asked to direct traffic, then paid with meal vouchers instead of the minimum wage as legally required.” Additionally, “The agency also found that three teenagers under the age of 18 were operating, loading and unloading a trash compactor, violating rules that prohibit minors from performing hazardous jobs.” 

During the summer, the franchise, in a now-deleted post, requested “volunteers” to work its drive-thru. The post stated, “Earn five free entrees per shift (1 hr) worked.” Although the post was deleted a day later, Today was able to document it. 

The Chick-fil-A franchise faced harsh backlash for its attempt to recruit “volunteers.” One Twitter user wrote, “Hey @ChickfilA can you explain why your allowing a franchisee to hire unpaid positions? This is unacceptable.” 

Another user joked, “The national median monthly rent price is $2,000, or 466 Chick-fil-A sandwiches.” 

CBS News reported on Monday, the DOL stated in a release that “another Chick-fil-A in Tampa, Florida, paid $12,478 in penalties in August after the DOL found it had 17 workers, 14- and 15-years-old, working past 7 p.m. and more than three hours during school days.”