Nearly 10,000 past and present Chipotle employees are suing the burrito chain over accusations that they have been victims of wage theft.
The suit, formally named Turner v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, alleges that employees aren’t paid for working extra hours.
More specifically, the employees claim that “Chipotle routinely requires hourly-paid restaurant employees to punch out, and then continue working until they are given permission to leave.”
Apparently, Chipotle has engaged in this behavior “so that the restaurant could meet its budget goals.”
According to CNN, this the largest wage theft suit that Chipotle has ever faced. The current and former employees in the suit are said to be from nearly every U.S. state in which Chipotle operates.
It is believed that the wage theft issue primarily emanates from workers being clocked out at a specific time at the end of their shift. If they continue to work after this time, the system will not log their hours.
Both sides clearly see the issue in a different light.
Chipotle has said that the allegations are “proof of nothing”, and that the suit “has no merit,” largely because it was initially filed in 2014.
An attorney representing the employees expressed, “Our view, especially given the number of people opting in, is that it’s a systematic problem at Chipotle.”
Chipotle has run into a number of controversies in the past year, the most prominent of which was probably their bout of food contamination.
