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New York City sues Chipotle alleging labor law violations

The New York City government sued Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., alleging the company violated the city's Fair Workweek Law. The restaurant chain owners called the move "unnecessary."

In the lawsuit, the city accused the Mexican fast-food chain of breaching "nearly every aspect" of the Fair Workweek Law by failing to provide good faith estimates of work schedules and schedules two weeks in advance, as well as failing to get consent and pay premiums for last-minute schedule changes and for working "clopenings," wherein an employee works a closing shift one day and an opening shift the next day. Chipotle is also accused of failing to offer newly available shifts to current employees and implementing an illegal sick leave policy.

The labor lawsuit was filed at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, or DCWP, according to a Sept. 10 news release.

The Fair Workweek Law requires employers to provide predictable schedules in the fast-food and retail sectors and to serve as a pathway to stable, full-time employment for fast-food workers, the de Blasio administration said in the statement.

"In New York City, predictable schedules for fast-food and retail workers are a right, not a privilege," de Blasio said. "Chipotle must immediately stop their unfair labor practices and put their employees above profit."

A Chipotle spokeswoman said in an emailed statement to S&P Global Market Intelligence that it "has been working cooperatively with the city to ensure we have systems and processes in place to comply with the law, so we believe the filing of charges was unnecessary."

"Regardless, we will continue to cooperate with the city and we are addressing any prior noncompliance concerns."

DCWP Commissioner Lorelei Salas, however, said that numerous Chipotle locations are ignoring the Fair Workweek Law and continue to take advantage of their workers.

The DCWP wants Chipotle to pay at least $1 million in indemnity for workers, on top of civil penalties and future compliance with the requirements of the Fair Workweek Law. The agency has also launched a probe into 11 Chipotle locations in Manhattan to investigate similar alleged violations, the de Blasio administration said.