Chipotle Mexican Grill has reached a $20 million settlement with New York City — the largest of its kind — to resolve fair scheduling and sick leave violations affecting 13,000 current and former employees.
Chipotle to pay $20 million to resolve New York City workplace case
New York Mayor Eric Adams said Chipotle violated the city’s Fair Workweek Law, which took effect in November 2017. The measure requires employers to give workers their schedules 14 days in advance and pay premiums for schedule changes or shifts with less than 11 hours of rest in between. It also requires large employers like Chipotle to offer 56 hours of paid leave each year.
It’s the largest fair workweek settlement in the nation and the biggest labor protection settlement in the city’s history, Adams said Tuesday.
In 2018, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection started an investigation of Chipotle’s labor practices, following complaints filed by 160 Chipotle employees and the 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The inquiry initially focused on Brooklyn locations over possible violations of the Fair Workweek Law, then expanded to encompass locations citywide in 2021 with nearly 600,000 alleged violations.
“This almost feels unreal. When you’re in the thick of it, like going to work each day and going through the motions, you think no one is paying attention,” said Chipotle worker Yeral Martinez in an SEIU statement. “But this settlement proves that we’re not invisible.”
Scott Boatwright, the chief restaurant officer, noted that Chipotle had raised wages across the country last year and reinstated new policies.
“We have implemented a number of compliance initiatives, including additional management resources and adding new and improved time keeping technology, to help our restaurants and we look forward to continuing to promote the goals of predictable scheduling and access to work hours for those who want them,” he said in a statement.
Source: WP
