Some industries like logistics, food delivery, retail stores and hospitality have been found to be more felon friendly compared to others.
If you are someone interested in working in the retail food industry then Chick-Fil-A can be your next workplace. But, do they hire felons? Let’s find out
Does Chick-Fil-A hire felons?
Yes, Chick-Fil-A does hire felons. However, it is a franchise business model and hiring decisions are made by owners of the particular outlet. So hiring rules can be different at different locations.
Chick-Fil-A does not have an official policy about hiring felons. Most Chick-fil-A restaurant businesses are locally owned and operated by independent, franchised Operators.
They recruit, hire, train and manage their own employees, handle all matters regarding Team Member employment at their restaurants, and set their own employment policies and procedures.
So, hiring decisions are pretty much in their hands and it has been observed that they usually don’t mind hiring felons especially the local people. But it does not mean that every felon will get hired.
Some factors that can influence hiring decisions are nature of the offense, time duration since your release and your record since your release.
Read More:
How to Get a Job with a Felony Record
Chick-Fil-A is not a part of the Ban-The-Box campaign or the Fair Chance Business pledge but they still provide opportunities to felons.
Does Chick-Fil-A run background checks?
Yes, Chick-Fil-A runs background checks on potential employees as a part of their pre-employment process. Applicants need to mention their felony charges in the application form and the details are verified with a background check.
Typically, background check reports include criminal history, identity verification, work eligibility, educational and previous employment records and sometimes driving records as well.
Background checks can vary depending on the location in which you have applied for a job. In some states, records older than 7-8 years do not show up in background checks while in some other states, all the available records show up.
Some states only consider guilty verdicts while some of them consider non-guilty as well. So you can’t be sure what information will come out in background checks. So it is better that you be as honest as possible while filling the job application.
Does Chick-Fil-A conduct drug tests?
Generally, drug tests are not conducted as a part of Chick-Fil-A’s hiring process. However, some locations might have their own rules depending on the local laws.
How to get hired at Chick-Fil-A with a felony record?
Chick-Fil-A is a restaurant chain that primarily has a chicken based food menu. They have more than 2400 outlets across the U.S.
You can find Chick-fil-A inside airports, malls, college campuses, in the heart of Manhattan, and nestled among the thousands of busy streets connecting neighborhoods in 47 states and Washington D.C.
Employees describe Chick-Fil-A as a great working experience. Some of the benefits of working at Chick-Fil-A are a good working environment with friendly co-workers, flexible shifts, opportunity to advance to better roles, scholarships for education and fixed time off since they are closed on sundays.
Employees working at Chick-Fil-A are mostly youngsters, so if you dropped out of school/college due to felony charges then Chick-Fil-A would be a good place to work while completing your education.
Chick-Fil-A has job opportunities in corporate roles as well as in the restaurants.
If you are qualified for a corporate role, you can check job posting on their corporate careers page and directly apply for a suitable role. You can also apply through job sites like Indeed.
To work in a restaurant, you can find the nearest one on their restaurant locator page and get details like address and phone number. You can directly contact the restaurant and check if they have any available vacancies that you can apply for. You can submit a job application along with your resume at the restaurant.
For restaurant roles, typically there is one round of interview that can be 25-30 minutes long. Questions asked are based on your experiences and skills. They also ask you questions like “what will you do if a customer….”.
If questions about your criminal records come up during the interview then be upfront and honest. Put more focus on how you are a changed individual now and how you have maintained a clean record since your release.
Talk about future plans and assure the interviewer that you can be an asset for the team.
Final thoughts
Restaurant jobs don’t need any advanced degrees and anyone with an aptitude to work can get hired. As a felon, opportunities are limited, so apply for as many jobs as possible and attend interviews. Even if you face a few rejections, the interview experience itself will help you perform better in the next one.