Employer record, U.S. Labor Department investigations

Chick-fil-A Wage and Hour Cases in California

Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.Legal notes by Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.

Chick-fil-A: 4 investigations, $0 in back wages for 0 workers, latest closed Aug 12, 2021.

Every federal wage and hour case closed in California since 2004 and a handful before: 30,596 investigations, 23,910 employers, $472,441,289 in back wages for 335,130 workers.

Chick-fil-A wage and hour record at a glance

Chick-fil-A appears in 4 concluded Wage and Hour Division investigations in California, closed between Nov 27, 2017 and Aug 12, 2021. 3 of them found violations, 9 in all, and the employer agreed to pay $0 in back wages to 0 workers, plus $7,490 in civil money penalties. The largest single case closed Aug 12, 2021 in Stockton with $0 for 0 workers. 8 minors were involved in child labor findings. That places the employer at #12,341 of 23,910 California employers in the database by back wages. The same employer has 5 WARN layoff notices on file with the EDD.

Industry as coded by the Division: Limited-Service Eating Places. Laws involved: child labor.

Every case, newest first

Case closedPeriod investigatedCityFindingsBack wagesWorkers paidPenaltiesLaws
Aug 12, 2021Aug 2019 to Aug 2021Stockton4 violations00$5,528child labor
Dec 4, 2017Dec 2015 to Dec 2017Sacramentono violations found000
Dec 1, 2017Jan 2017 to Dec 2017Stockton2 violations000child labor
Nov 27, 2017Nov 2015 to Nov 2017Los Angeles3 violations00$1,962child labor

Also filed as: Joshua Paul Enterprises, LLC; The Egg Came First, LLC; CDC Rsstaurant Group, Inc; Farage Family Company, LLC.

Local pages: Stockton employment lawyer, Sacramento employment lawyer, Los Angeles employment lawyer.

How to read this record

Each row is one federal investigation. Period investigated is the span of payroll the Division reviewed, usually two years back from the complaint. Back wages is what the employer agreed to pay for that period at the federal rate; penalties went to the government, not to workers.

Back wages computed under the federal law are usually a fraction of the California number for the same hours: the state minimum is $16.90 in 2026, overtime starts after 8 hours in a day, and each missed meal or rest period adds an hour of pay. Workers paid in these cases may still be owed that difference, and the federal release form covers only the federal claim.

Full explainer: what a Labor Department case is, and what it is not.

If you work, or worked, at Chick-fil-A

Pull together your pay stubs and your own record of hours for the last three years, request your pay records in writing (the employer has 21 days under Labor Code 226), and keep any WH-58 receipt from a Labor Department payment. A free review tells you in one call whether the California numbers exceed what was paid, whether break premiums and waiting time penalties apply, and whether anything that happened after you complained counts as retaliation. Call (800) 371-3088 or send your stubs.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement database, California cases. Record last checked Oct 30, 2026. Back to the wage theft tracker.

About this data: Cases come from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforcement database (WHD compliance actions concluded since fiscal year 2005, California employers only), published by the Department of Labor and reloaded here every month. "Back wages" are amounts the employer agreed to pay at the close of the investigation; "penalties" are civil money penalties assessed. An investigation that found no violation is listed as such. The database does not include California Labor Commissioner cases or private lawsuits. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.

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