Chick-Fil-A Has A Bad Track Record For Child Labor Violations

In early 2023, Chick-fil-A was subjected to public scrutiny after a TikTok showed a literal child working at a Chick-fil-A restaurant. The employee, only 13 years old, was actually within his legal rights to work, as his father owned the location he was working at.

However, the confusion on TikTok led to second and third looks at Chick-fil-A's spotty history when it comes to employing minors. Just a few months earlier, a Chick-fil-A in North Carolina was faced with more than $6,400 in child labor violations. Per the Department of Labor's investigation, the store allowed three minors to use a trash compactor despite provisions stating that workers under the age of 18 are prohibited from performing hazardous tasks like operating compactors, rendering machines, and delicatessen slicers.

While $6,400 in fines is no small punishment, a Florida Chick-fil-A was charged with nearly double that in August 2022 for — you guessed it — more child labor violations, though of a slightly different nature.

Underage workers are limited on how much they are allowed to work. Federal laws state that minors cannot work more than three hours on a school day or more than 18 hours during a school week, nor can they work more than eight hours on a non-school day or more than 40 hours during a non-school week. What's more, underaged employees are restricted to working between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. outside of the summer (when hours can extend to 9 p.m.).

Unfortunately, the Department of Labor found a Florida Chick-fil-A to be in violation of both provisions, with 17 minors working either more than three hours on school days or working past their legal curfew. As such, the store was fined more than $12,000 in violations. Chick-fil-A isn't the only company that has found itself in hot water for overworking underaged employees, Nestle also garnered controversy for child labor.