North Carolina Chick-fil-A Criticized for Offering to Pay ‘Volunteer’ Workers With Chicken Sandwiches

A Chick-fil-A in North Carolina is facing backlash after posting a job opportunity that offered to pay workers in chicken sandwiches.

The restaurant, located in Hendersonville, North Carolina, took to Facebook on Tuesday to solicit “volunteers” to work the drive-thru in exchange for food, not money. 

“We are looking for volunteers for our new Drive Thru Express! Earn 5 free entrees per shift (1 hr) worked,” the since-deleted post read. “Message us for details.”

A spokesperson for Chick-fil-A told Insider on Wednesday that the fast food chain did not endorse the job posting, and that Chick-fil-A has ended the volunteer program.

“Most restaurants are individually owned and operated, and it was a program at an individually owned restaurant,” the spokesperson said.

According to Fortune, Chick-fil-A responded to the backlash in a subsequent post on Facebook, claiming that “multiple people” expressed interest in the job opportunity.

“Thanks for everyone’s concern on this matter,” the restaurant wrote. “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.”