By: Claudia Irizarry Aponte
Chipotle Mexican Grill, the fast-casual Tex-Mex chain, has agreed to a $20 million settlement with the city in connection with city allegations it violated workplace protection laws around fair scheduling and paid sick leave.
The payout, the result of a four-year investigation and complaint filed by the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection in 2018 through the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, is the largest settlement of its kind, according to according to DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga.
Around 13,000 workers will receive restitution as part of the agreement, to be doled out in the coming weeks, according to DCWP officials. Under the deal, Chipotle also agreed to pay an additional $1 million in civil penalties to the city.
“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,” Chipotle worker Yeral Martinez said in a statement. “But this settlement proves that we’re not invisible. Companies can’t treat their workers as disposable. We are worthy of respect, dignity, and fair schedules!”
Vera Mayuga and Mayor Eric Adams announced the settlement at a press conference in the City Hall rotunda on Tuesday afternoon.
“Our investigation found that Chipotle did not give employees advance notice of their work schedules, required employees to work extra time without their advance consent, did not properly compensate workers for schedule changes, did not offer available shifts to current employees before hiring new employees, and did not allow employees to use accrued paid safe and sick leave,” Vera Mayuda said on Tuesday.
“I am pleased to announce that we have reached a settlement that will put money back in the pockets of these workers — a settlement that is the largest fair workweek settlement in the country,” she added.
A Chipotle official also expressed satisfaction with the settlement.
“We are pleased to be able to resolve these issues and believe this settlement demonstrates Chipotle’s commitment to providing opportunities for all of our team members while also complying with the Fair Workweek law,” Chipotle Chief Restaurant Officer Scott Boatwright said in a statement on Tuesday.
New Laws Wielded
The city’s probe into Chipotle’s workplace practices dates back to 2017. DCWP filed its initial OATH complaint into the company’s flouting of the city’s Fair Workweek law and Paid Safe and Sick Leave law in 2018.
The Fair Workweek law, in effect since 2017, mandates that management at fast food restaurants give notice of employee schedules at least two weeks in advance.
The Paid Safe and Sick Leave law mandates employers to provide accrued paid sick leave, which can be used for unexpected reasons and without advance notice, for the employee or a family member. The law also states employers must provide employees with a written notice describing the benefit and how to use it.
Last April, the city filed a follow-up action that alleged “systematic failures to comply” with the scheduling law, asserting that the company had violated the law nearly 600,000 times between 2017 and 2019 at nearly 90 locations across the five boroughs.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection calculated an estimated 6,500 employees were due nearly $150 million — “approximately $23,061.00 relief owed per affected employee.”
While Tuesday’s settlement covers double that number of employees, encompassing every Chipotle worker across the city, the $20 million settlement totals far below that amount.