Chipotle’s Labor Law Violations Will Cost Them A Lot More Than Extra Guac

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Mmhmm…Burrito (Image via Getty)

Walking up to the counter, the biggest concern I usually have at a Chipotle is figuring out if I want the “brown” rice or the white rice. It isn’t really brown rice, but it’s got a little color to it so I assume it tastes better than the white rice, but that strikes me as too simple. Maybe I’m missing something — does the white rice have more butter? I get my food and I carry on about my day. But for New Yorkers working on the other side of the counter, their Chipotle-related concerns have been a little more complicated. What is my schedule gonna look like? Why didn’t they let me pick up Brian’s shift? There’s no way this is legal, etc. After this settlement, they should have a bit more solace as they warm up the tortillas.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill will pay $20m to current and former workers at its New York City restaurants for violating city labour [sic] laws, Mayor Eric Adams announced Tuesday.

According to investigators, Chipotle’s violations of the city’s Fair Workweek law included failing to post work schedules 14 days in advance, pay a premium for schedule changes and offer available shifts to current employees before hiring new employees.

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We love to see it! Looking at the violations, Chipotle wasn’t really expected to even do much after all. Living paycheck to paycheck is hard enough without having to plan that way too. Is it really that hard to give folks a reliable schedule that allows them to organize their time off the clock? Is it really that hard to offer the people who work for you a chance to pick up a couple of hours before you send out a blast of job openings on Monster? Okay, I’m honestly not too sure how the hiring process works at Chipotle — maybe you show up in line with a pre-rolled burrito and show it off to the manager like a proud first grader at a show-and-tell? Show them your Roblox account? However it is done, you get my drift.

“Today’s settlement with Chipotle is not only a victory for workers by securing up to $20m in relief for approximately 13,000 workers, but also sends a strong message, as the largest worker protection settlement in New York City history, that we won’t stand by when workers’ rights are violated,” Adams, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Under the agreement, any hourly New York City Chipotle worker is eligible to receive $50 for each week worked between November 26, 2017, and April 30, 2022. Chipotle will also pay $1m in civil penalties to the city.

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Finally, a feel-good story that ends in more than thoughts and prayers. It is easy to think of labor laws as a given. To be frank, Chipotle may be more inclined to think of them as a nuisance. That said, it is nice to take a breather every once in a while and think about the law’s trajectory over time. If you’ve taken any employment law class (shout-out to Prof. Kim at WashU!), you know that times have generally changed for the better. Even today’s at-will employment generally carries with it certain protections that are a far cry from the experiences our parents and their parents before them had to put up with. While $20M is a drop in the bucket to a giant like Chipotle, it is a important win for workers working toward simple victories — fair pay, a reliable schedule, and to be treated with a baseline level of respect.

Chipotle to pay NYC workers $20m for violating city labour laws [Al Jazeera]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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Chipotle, Employment law, New York