News

Chipotle violated US labor laws, says NLRB

iStock photo

December 20, 2019

Chipotle Mexican Grill is facing allegations that it fired a New York employee in retaliation for complaining about workplace problems and trying to organize with a union, according to Reuters. The publication reported Friday that Peter Robb, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, filed the complaint on Dec. 12, saying that the employee was involved with 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which had been trying to organize workers for the company.

The complaint alleged that in May, a manager at a restaurant in Manhattan threatened to fire employees if they engaged in union activities — implying they might face physical violence and promised promotions to other workers who provided information about the organizing. The complaint also alleged manager intimidation at another Manhattan store, with one employee saying they were fired after complaining about scheduling and other problems.

As of press time, Chipotle — which has more than 2,500 company-owned locations around the world — had not responded to FastCasual's request for comment,

The action requested that Chipotle reimburse the fired employee for expenses incurred from work searches and for tax relief from any lump sum back-pay awards. 

Chipotle has until Dec. 26 to respond to the complaint. The hearing is scheduled for March 2 in New York.