A North Carolina fast-food franchisee is facing sharp backlash for the "pay" it offered on a recent job posting.
On July 26, a Hendersonville Chick-fil-A location posted a job opening of sorts on its public Facebook page. In the entry, the restaurant asked for "volunteers" to work its drive-thru — not for money, but for Chick-fil-A entrees.
“We are looking for volunteers for our new Drive Thru Express! Earn 5 free entrees per shift (1 hr) worked,” the now-deleted Facebook post read. “Message us for details.”
While this offer could net potential "volunteers" up to five of Chick-fil-A’s “Cool Wraps” at $7.29 per shift, that amount would only translate to four cents over North Carolina’s current minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
Although the Chick-fil-A franchisee deleted the post a day later, backlash to it was swift and can still be found bubbling across social media.
“Can I volunteer to own the store then fire what ever clown came up with volunteering work idea?” asked one Facebook user.
“That needs to be reported to the state department of labor. For-profit businesses aren’t allowed to use volunteers, especially not volunteers who would displace paid employees. The volunteers are being paid in scrip,” commented someone on Reddit. “It is also a HUGE liability issue for the store.”
“Hey @ChickfilA can you explain why your allowing a franchisee to hire unpaid positions? This is unacceptable,” wrote one Twitter user.
“The national median monthly rent price is $2,000, or 466 Chick-fil-A sandwiches,” tweeted another user.
“Imagine not paying people for working and making a post about appreciating the work they do all in the same breath,” someone commented on the Hendersonville Chick-fil-A’s Facebook page on a post unrelated to the listing. As a result of the influx of criticism, it appears that the fast-food location’s posts have limited who can comment on its page.
“Thanks for everyone’s concern on this matter,” the store wrote in the comments of its now-deleted post. “This is a volunteer based opportunity, which means people can opt in to volunteer if they think it’s a good fit for them. We’ve had multiple people sign up and enjoy doing and have done it multiple times. People who sign up for this chose it voluntarily. We are still hiring full time and part time team members, so if you are interested in working in our store, we pay $19/hr.”