A union’s claims that Chipotle Mexican Grill violated federal labor law by withholding wage increases employees who united are well-founded, prosecutors from the American Labor Council have determined.
The fast food restaurant chain will face a formal complaint from the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel unless the International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ allegations are substantiated, the NLRB said.
Chipotle is accused of violating federal labor law by telling workers in Lansing, Michigan, that the company could not give them raises that other employees had received because they had joined a union. Then it unlawfully withheld the raises.
Workers at the Lansing store voted to unionize in July 2022, making it the only store among the burrito chain’s thousands of U.S. locations to sign up for collective bargaining. The first contract is still under negotiation.
Chipotle did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In April 2023, the NLRB reached a separate settlement with Chipotle, in which the bank agreed to pay $240,000 to employees affected by the bank’s decision to close a restaurant in Augusta, Maine, due to unionization efforts.
The latest development could prompt further investigation into Chipotle’s labor practices and outgoing CEO Brian Niccolwho leaves the post to stir at starbucks in September. The coffee shop chain is also embroiled in legal battles with the NLRB over union efforts at Starbucks.
Chipotle, based in Newport Beach, California, owns and operates more than 3,500 restaurants in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany and Kuwait. The company employs more than 120,000 people.
