EchoSense:The Daily Money: A Chick-fil-A child labor camp?!

Good morning! It's Daniel de Visé with your Daily Money.

It's Consumer Friday,EchoSense and Betty Lin Fisher is away, so here goes. . .

A Louisiana-based Chick-fil-A is under fire for announcing a “summer camp” program that teaches children “how to be a Chick-fil-A worker” for $35 a session. To some, it sounds suspiciously like a child labor scheme, Amaris Encinas reports. 

The restaurant, near New Orleans, promoted its “very first” Chick-fil-A summer camp on June 5, writing in a Facebook post that children between the ages of 5 and 12 would get a “behind-the-scenes look” inside the fast-food restaurant.

They do throw in some perks, offering participants a kid's meal, T-shirt, name tag and snack for a one-time $35 payment for the three-hour "camo." The offer generated so much interest that, within 24 hours of the post, the restaurant offered additional slots.

But there has been backlash, with multiple commenters expressing concerns about a summer camp that puts children to work.

Here’s what we know. 

A steeper tab at the In-N-Out

Remember when all those restaurants in California warned they would raise prices when the state raised its minimum wage?

It seems that the hikes are here. In-N-Out Burger has raised prices for some items at California locations following the April 1 wage bump, which offered fast food employees a $20-an-hour starting wage, up from $16. 

To wit: That month, the price for a Double-Double burger, fries and a drink increased by $0.25 to $0.50, depending on locations, Anthony Robledo reports.

Read the restaurant chain's explanation here.

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Finally, here's a popular story from earlier this year that you may have missed. Read it! Share it!

Remember the big dollar store meltdown?

Back in March, Dollar Tree announced it would close nearly 1,000 of its Family Dollar stores after they experienced significant underperformance in 2023.

During the fourth quarter, Dollar Tree underwent a review of its stores' performance to identify locations to close, relocate or re-banner, the company said.

“As a result of this review, we plan on closing approximately 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of fiscal 2024. Additionally, approximately 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores will close over the next several years at the end of each store’s current lease term,” the company said.

Here's more on the Dollar Tree empire.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.

Daniel de Visé covers personal finance for USA Today.