Does Chick-fil-A hire people with felonies?

What Chick-fil-A has said

Chick-fil-A says the majority of its restaurants are owned and operated by franchised Operators who hire and train their own employees and handle all employment matters, so screening for restaurant jobs is decided restaurant by restaurant. We found no Chick-fil-A statement on hiring people with criminal records, and it is not on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list. For its own corporate hiring, Chick-fil-A, Inc.'s California candidate privacy policy says it may run reference or other background checks, as applicable.

We didn't find a public statement from Chick-fil-A about hiring people with records: not on its careers site, in its reports, or in its announcements. That doesn't mean it won't hire you. It means there's nothing on the record to point to.

Does Chick-fil-A do background checks?

Chick-fil-A hasn't said publicly whether it runs background checks. For restaurant jobs, Chick-fil-A says franchised Operators handle all employment matters, and it doesn't publish their screening practices. For corporate jobs, Chick-fil-A, Inc.'s California candidate privacy policy (updated May 27, 2025) says it may run reference or other background checks, and credit history checks, as applicable, using background screening companies.^1,2

• How long a background check takes

Does Chick-fil-A drug test?

Chick-fil-A hasn't published a drug testing policy. Some job postings say whether a test is required, so check the listing for the role you want.

Rules for specific jobs

• Restaurant team members at franchised restaurants

  Chick-fil-A says franchised Operators hire and train their own employees and handle all employment matters, and that hiring decisions (including minimum age) are made by the individual Operator. Ask the Operator of the restaurant you're applying to about background checks.³

• Restaurants run by a Chick-fil-A, Inc. Interim Manager

  Chick-fil-A's restaurant careers page says positions are filled at the discretion of the franchisee Operator or a Chick-fil-A, Inc. Interim Manager, so some restaurants are temporarily run by the company.⁴

• Corporate Support Center jobs (Chick-fil-A, Inc.)

  Chick-fil-A, Inc. is the employer for corporate roles. Its California candidate policy says it may use background screening companies and run reference, background and credit checks as applicable. The corporate posting we opened (Sr. Lead Cybersecurity Analyst, Atlanta) had no screening language.²

Your rights, and how far back a check can go

• Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an employer must get your written permission before it gets a background report about you from a background screening company.^7,8,9
• Before an employer decides not to hire, keep, or promote you because of something in a background report, it must give you a copy of the report and a document called "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."^7,8
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^7,10
• The FCRA's seven-year limit does not apply to criminal convictions, so under federal law a conviction can show up on a background report no matter how old it is.^11,12
• Under the FCRA, background and credit reports generally cannot include arrest records, civil lawsuits, or civil judgments that are more than seven years old (or older than the statute of limitations, if that is longer).^11,13

Your full background check rights

Before you apply

• You can ask a background screening company for the information it has on you, and the CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies, including employment screening companies, with their contact details.^7,10,14
• According to the Clean Slate Initiative, 14 states and Washington, D.C. have passed Clean Slate laws that meet its criteria for automatically clearing eligible records: Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Illinois, and Missouri, plus D.C.¹⁵
• The Federal Bonding Program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, lets states give employers free fidelity bonds that protect them against losses from a newly hired worker's dishonest acts, for job seekers with past justice involvement or in recovery from substance use.^16,17

See whether you can clear your record in your state