The location was investigated by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
Months after a Hendersonville, North Carolina, Chick-fil-A was met with backlash on social media after asking for a group of volunteers to work their drive thru, that same restaurant has found itself in hot water yet again.
USA Today reports that the Chick-fil-A location was fined by the U.S. Department of Labor after violating federal child labor and minimum-wage regulations. In total, the restaurant was fined $6,450 and ordered to pay $235 in back wages owed to workers.
An investigation conducted by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division uncovered that the Hendersonville restaurant paid drive-thru workers with meal vouchers rather than wages, which was in violation of federal minimum-wage law. The restaurant’s Facebook post from July stated that volunteers would “Earn 5 free entrees per shift (1 hr) worked.”
Additionally, the Chick-fil-A also violated federal child-labor regulations by allowing three workers under the age of 18 to operate a trash compactor.
“Child labor laws ensure that when young people work, the work does not jeopardize their health, well-being, or educational opportunities,” said Richard Blaylock, a local Department of Labor director, according to USA Today. “In addition, employers are responsible to pay workers for all of the hours worked, and the payment must be made in cash or legal tender.”
In July of this year, after news of the Hendersonville location’s Facebook request for volunteers went viral, a rep for Chick-fil-A released a statement to The Washington Post distancing themselves.
“Most restaurants are individually owned and operated, and it was a program at an individually owned restaurant. This was not endorsed by Chick-fil-A, Inc.,” the rep told The Post.
