In 1999 and in 2017, the United States Department of Labor filed suit against the Cathedral Buffet, both of which were filed due to the restaurant not properly paying their employees. In the 2017 lawsuit, it was argued by Angley that the employees were actually "volunteers", and that they had prices that were so cheap that they could not stay in business unless they didn't pay them. The court found him guilty in both instances and fined him $37,000 and $388,000 respectively in damages and wages. Since the 2017 lawsuit, the Cathedral Buffet has been closed. In April 2018, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's decision finding there was no violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) The appeals court found the volunteers had no expectation of compensation.