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Chipotle Mexican Grill has been accused of blatant worker violations in a lawsuit filed by the City of New York over the chain’s scheduling practices.
The plaintiff, New York’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, alleges that Chipotle workers are subjected to erratic schedules that change rapidly and require them to work many shifts in a row without extra pay or time off. The Department claims that the fast-food chain disregards New York City’s fair scheduling laws at dozens of locations and that affected workers are due $150 million in damages.
This is the second lawsuit to accuse Chipotle of illegal worker scheduling practices. In 2019, New York City lodged a complaint involving a smaller number of locations, reports The New York Times. Though the eatery made some changes to come into compliance with the scheduling laws, it still fails to provide workers fair schedules, alleges the Department in its new lawsuit.
“Chipotle’s flagrant disregard for our laws and for their employees is unacceptable,” Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly said in a statement. “Workers deserve reliable schedules and we will do everything in our power to hold them accountable.”
Chipotle reportedly owns and runs more than 80 locations in New York City, in contrast to other fast-food chains that follow a franchise model. The chain says that it will defend itself from the allegations, calling the lawsuit a “dramatic overreach,” reports The New York Times.
“Chipotle remains committed to its employees and their right to a fair, just and humane work environment that provides opportunities to all,” Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer reportedly said in a statement addressing the newly filed complaint.
Research conducted over the last decade shows that erratic work schedules have a negative effect on employees and their families, according to The New York Times. A number of companies announced changes to scheduling practices that would provide more predictability and consistency to workers who were often given little notice of shift changes or forced to do unpaid on-call work.
In addition, New York City passed the Fair Workweek Law in 2017, which requires businesses to provide fast-food employees, such as Chipotle workers, an estimate of their schedule and the chance to pick up shifts before the company makes new hires.
Are you a Chipotle worker? What do you think of their scheduling practices? Tell us in the comment section below!
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One thought on Chipotle Accused of Illegal Worker Scheduling Practices in $150M Lawsuit
Did this get settled ? I got sent something thru PayPal. Scam ?