Chipotle offers to rehire manager after terminating her

On Behalf of | Nov 29, 2018 | Wrongful Termination |

Minnesota residents may have been following the developing news about a local Chipotle firing one of its managers after a video emerged where she suggested that five black customers were not going to pay for their meal. The viral video showed the manager telling one of the customers that they have to pay, because they rarely have money when they come into the store and that food would not be made until the customers had money. The customers complained about stereotypes in the video and one of them took the complaint to social media, resulting in a flood of complaints against the food chain and their decision to terminate the manager in question.

New evidence, however, suggests that the manager was not racially discriminating against the customers in question. In the videos posted online, employees present at the time could also be heard saying they had previously ordered food at the restaurant without paying for it. In fact, tweets emerged showing at least one of the customers supporting the practice of dining and dashing, and even boasting about doing it at various restaurants, including Chipotle.

While previously the restaurant had issued a statement announcing the manager’s termination for behaving in the way she did, they subsequently issued another statement publicly apologizing for their actions and offering the woman her job back after reviewing all the evidence. Representatives also agreed that the customers in question might have been the ones who were ordering food and not paying for it.

All this comes after another manager who was fired after being accused of stealing around $600 won about $8 million against Chipotle for wrongful termination. When people are discharged from their jobs, employers must follow correct procedure and ensure they are legally terminating the employee. When they fail to do so, an employee may have a remedy in employment law for wrongful termination.