Nearly 10,000 Employees Sue Chipotle for Wage Theft

September 7, 2016

Nearly 10,000 workers are suing Chipotle for allegedly not paying them the money they are owed.

Current and former Chipotle employees claim that the company made them work extra hours “off the clock” without paying them. This is called wage theft, and Chipotle is accused of doing this all over the United States.

“Chipotle routinely requires hourly-paid restaurant employees to punch out, and then continue working until they are given permission to leave,” according to the class action lawsuit known as Turner v. Chipotle. It’s named after a former Chipotle manager in Colorado who claims she had to work without pay and was told to make workers under her do the same in order to meet budget goals.

Chipotle denies any wrongdoing and says the case has no merit. The company said it has paid all wages it owes employees.

Chipotle has faced similar lawsuits previously, but this is the first time there has been such a large class action case against the company for wage theft. As of Friday, 9,961 current and former workers have sent in consent forms to join the lawsuit.

Chipotle is expected to continue fighting the case.

Employers expect employees to do their assigned tasks, plain and simple. Employees expect to be paid their agreed upon wage for all hours worked, equally as simple. However, sometimes employers fail to live up to their end of the obligation. When employers fail to pay workers the full and fair wages they are entitled to receive, employees can take legal action, as this case shows.

Wage disputes can become complicated mostly due to the fact that a number of state and federal laws apply to these cases. Our Florida Unpaid Wage & Overtime Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can work to help you resolve any wage dispute issues with your employer.

For a free consultation, call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online.