First lawsuit against corporately-owned fast food chain under City’s Fair Workweek Law
Mayor de Blasio and Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Lorelei Salas today announced a lawsuit against Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (Chipotle) for widespread violations of the City’s Fair Workweek Law, which requires predictable schedules in the fast food and retail industries and a pathway to stable, full-time employment for fast food workers.
“In New York City, predictable schedules for fast food and retail workers are a right, not a privilege,” said Mayor de Blasio. “No corporation can get away with blatantly violating the rights of New York City workers without consequences. Chipotle must immediately stop their unfair labor practices and put their employees above profit.”
“It is disappointing that numerous Chipotle locations are ignoring the City’s Fair Workweek Law and continuing to take advantage of their workers,” said DCWP Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “This case exemplifies the abusive practices that this law is intended to end, and Chipotle must come into compliance. I encourage all fast food workers to come forward if their right to a predictable schedule or new shift is being violated.”
"I used to work at the 185 Montague Street Chipotle. I started out as a takeout specialist and I became a service manager. In my time at this Chipotle store, I saw the company violate not one, but all the tenets of the Fair Workweek Law," said Steve Vidal, former Chipotle worker.
The lawsuit, which has been filed at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH), alleges that Chipotle violated nearly every aspect of the City’s Fair Workweek Law, including failing to provide good faith estimates of work schedules and schedules two weeks in advance, failing to get consent and pay premiums for last minute schedule changes and for working “clopenings,” and failing to offer newly available shifts to current employees. DCWP also found that Chipotle had an illegal sick leave policy. More than 30 workers from five different Chipotle locations in Brooklyn filed complaints with DCWP about ongoing violations of the Fair Workweek Law.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection is seeking at least $1 million in restitution for workers plus civil penalties and future compliance with the requirements of the Fair Workweek Law. DCWP has also launched an investigation into 11 Chipotle locations in Manhattan for similar alleged violations under the Fair Workweek Law.
Under the Fair Workweek Law, fast food employers in New York City must give workers good faith estimates of when and how much they will work, predictable work schedules, and the opportunity to work newly available shifts before hiring new workers. Fast food employers also cannot schedule workers to work a clopening unless workers consent in writing and are paid a $100 premium to work the shift. Under the Law, retail employers must also give workers advanced notice of work schedules and may not schedule workers for on-call shifts or change workers’ schedules with inadequate notice. The required You Have a Right to a Predictable Work Schedule must be posted in any language that is the primary language of at least five percent of the workers at the workplace if available on DCWP’s website. Since the law went into effect, DCWP has received more than 250 complaints about Fair Workweek, closed more than 100 investigations, and obtained resolutions requiring more than $1 million combined fines and restitution for more than 2,600 workers. Workers can file a complaint online at nyc.gov/workers or by calling 311. Complaints can be filed anonymously.
DCWP’s lawsuit is being handled by Agency Attorney Hillary Scrivani supervised by Senior Enforcement Counsel Haeya Yim and Director of Litigation Claudia Henriquez, of the Office of Labor Policy & Standards (OLPS). The investigation was conducted by OLPS Investigator Tat Chun Lau supervised by Supervising Investigator Juana Abreu and Director of Investigations Elizabeth Wagoner. OLPS is led by Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Holt.
