Chipotle can’t catch a break: former worker accuses company of trying to cheat employees
Chipotle’s reputation has been spiraling downward faster than you can say burrito. The beleaguered fast Mexican chain first had to deal with a drawn-out E. Coli outbreak. Then, attempts to get customers back failed, including a bonus points system that was not worth it to most consumers. The company then became embroiled in a federal ruling saying that its social media policy violated the National Labor Relations Act.
Now, an ex-employee of Chipotle is saying that the company fired him for refusing to participate in something he called “shady practices.”
Alex Simon, according to a story by CNN, was paid to move from St. Louis to Little Rock, Arkansas to manage a Chipotle there. What started as a dream job quickly turned sour when he says people higher up in the company told him to cheat workers out of pay. He said that he was told to delete hours of people who worked more than 40 hours a week, which was often, so the company could save money.
"It was directly said, 'You know, if you need to go into the computer and shave hours off, do it,'" Simon told CNNMoney. Simon refused. He says he told them, "I can't do that. It's illegal. It's unethical."
With that refusal, Simon was fired and his bonus was taken away. CNN reached out to Arkansas Chipotle managers but received no replies. A spokesman for Chipotle said Simon’s firing had nothing to do with the pay issues and that company policies require that employees be paid for all hours worked.
This is not the first issue the company has had with pay accusations. CNNMoney reported in August that 10,000 current and former employees filed a class action lawsuit against Chipotle for making them work overtime without pay. The lawsuit, Turner v Chipotle, was given no merit by Chipotle and the company said it would fight the suit in court. Simon is trying to join that suit.
The suit is just one more headache the chain doesn’t need as it continues to try and repair its image, post E.coli outbreak.