A North Carolina Chick-fil-A offered five free entree meals for every hour worked at their new drive-thru A Chick-fil-A store in Henderson, North Carolina, is coming under fire for trying to pay their “volunteers” with chicken instead of money.
In a Facebook post that has since been deleted, the location advertised for people to work in the new drive-thru, offering to pay them five free entree meals for every shift they worked, per The Washington Post.
By offering this alternate form of payment, the store has been accused of ignoring the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which The Washington Post states is the federal law that ensures employees are compensated for every hour worked.
Jennifer Haigwood, director of communications for the North Carolina Department of Labor, told The Washington Post in regards to the situation that the FLSA’s requirements private for-profit employers “are clear that there cannot be an employee who provides ‘volunteer’ work for that for-profit employer.”
The Hendersonville store followed-up on the backlash in another social media post by saying that the payment idea was for customers of the location “to earn free food to simply traffic direct other guests.”
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