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What Chipotle's pay scandal can teach other fast casual brands

Businesses all over the US should be reviewing their own employee time clock systems to ensure they're properly recording —  and paying for — their workers' hours.

September 15, 2016

By Jason Walker, president of the Americas at Deputy

Millions of burrito bowl and taco lovers across the country may now have a sour taste in their mouth after learning that popular food chain Chipotle has allegedly deprived workers of proper pay. In fact, Fast Casual reported that nearly 10,000 workers are suing Chipotle for alleged wage theft.

According to the article, current and former Chipotle employees claim the company made them work extra hours "off the clock" without paying them. The current lawsuit, known as Turner v. Chipotle, first came about in 2014, after a former Chipotle manager in Colorado, Leah Turner, claimed she had to work without pay and was told to make workers under her do the same in order to meet budget goals.

Chipotle has more than 2,000 stores across the United States, yet with these allegations, it's clear that the chain struggles with correctly clocking workers' time. And while the scale of the injustice is still to be decided by the courts, the two questions everyone wants answered are "Why aren't people paying people properly and could Chipotle have avoided this?"

Could Chipotle have avoided the short-pay scandal?

Lawsuits can cost businesses — and individuals — serious money plus years off a person's life from the stress. And when it comes to Chipotle, it's still not clear what happened exactly: was it improper training? A faulty system? Negligent managers?

Chipotle's management and lawyers insist the case "has no merit." Chris Arnold, spokesman for the brand, told FastCasual: "We do a number of things for our employees that are uncommon in our industry. Benefits —  even for hourly workers —  include paid vacations, paid sick time and tuition reimbursement."

While this battle is being fought in court, businesses all over the US should be reviewing their own employee time clock systems to ensure they're properly recording —  and paying for — their workers' hours.

And there's a simple solution — workforce management technology. The fact is, this kind of modern technology has systems set in place to help businesses avoid many of the time recording issues faced by Chipotle. Even the major allegation of managers instructing their team members to work off the clock. How? These systems are set up in a way that cannot be manipulated by humans.

Automated time tracking technology should have fraud guards built in

Time tracking technology should be a win/win for both the employee and the employer. It should ensure that employees have every hour they work recorded and paid for while employers should be confident they're correctly paying their workers, and be assured that their systems can't be cheated.

Older time tracking systems are wide open to cheating by both the employee and employer simply because they don't have built-in fraud guards that accurately record when an employee is onsite and working. Employees should be paid for the hours they actually work, and one of the easiest ways to accurately record time worked is to monitor attendance onsite. Employers can do this by equipping their stores with workforce solutions that have GeoTagging from a mobile device or facial recognition when employees clock in from a kiosk directly built into the technology.

The solutions are out there, and it is an easy way to help make time tracking fair for workers and their bosses. Various solutions may also include automated attendance recording, which not only gives all parties confidence that the system will accurately record hours worked -- it also simplifies work records for payroll.

Ultimately, the right technology makes life easier while also helping protect companies from common issues like fraud, or worse —  accusations of mismanagement of workers' time that could lead to a lawsuit.  Moreover, if issues with employees do arise, companies can ensure they are safeguarded by quickly and easily referring back to the technology for reliable documentation that can help prevent litigation.

Built-in GeoTagging helps Rashay's Pizza, Pasta and Grill record shifts

By simply implementing workforce management technology, Rashay's Pizza, Pasta and Grill is safeguarding that it stays compliant with all rules and regulations, while also creating an empowering environment for its 500 employees across 10 locations.

HR Manager, Brendon Ford notes, "For our employees to shine, we need to ensure that we look after them on the operations side of the business. This means quality training, efficient scheduling and clear communication. It also means paying our employees the right amount at the right time, every time."

Through a workforce solution software, it is finally possible, as all their business and admin processes including scheduling and timesheet management are automated, streamlined and "run like clockwork."

Ultimately, workforce management technology has helped Rashay's become entirely efficient in resource allocation. "Shift data feeds directly into payroll. Managers can view and approve on the fly," said Ford. "Each member of our crew knows exactly when they are scheduled on and when their shift is starting. There's no confusion, and importantly, there are no delays with pays."

Workforce Management Helps Businesses Accurately Manage Shifts and Pay

In addition to staying in compliance, workforce management technology can benefit businesses for the better in the following ways:  

• Keeping accurate schedules, timesheets and payroll.
• Allowing for easy communication between employer and employee; giving employees an easy way to stay informed, share important messages and contribute to the workplace conversation.
• Making the approval process between managers and workers streamlined.
• Assigning specific tasks to specific employees, ensuring all tasks are properly completed
• And the ability to monitor, track and reward employee performance, helping keep morale high.

Ultimately, companies can easily treat employees fairly and pay them what they are legally entitled through workforce management technology. Take action now and the end result will be not only a more compliant business, but a more efficient and enjoyable business for all.