USA: Chipotle ordered to compensate employees after shutting down restaurant that tried to unionise
"Chipotle Must Pay $240,000 To Employees After They Shut Down Restaurant That Tried To Unionize"
Chipotle agreed to offer $240,000 in back pay and forward pay to employees at a location in Augusta, Maine, which was shuttered last year after workers attempted to unionize.
The burrito restaurant chain agreed to the settlement, which will amount to between $5,800 and $21,000 for each affected worker, while continuing to deny all wrongdoing in association with the closure of the location in July. The National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint in November asserting that the closure was meant to prevent the unionization efforts, while Chipotle said that the closure was a response to staffing difficulties.
“We settled this case not because we did anything wrong, but because the time, energy and cost to litigate would have far outweighed the settlement agreement,” the firm said in a Monday statement. “We respect our employees’ rights to organize under the National Labor Relations Act.”
Chipotle United remarked in a statement that the company embarked on an “illegal closure of our store and retaliation against our union members.” The settlement will also permit any Chipotle employee impacted by the shuttering of the store to preferentially apply for work at another Chipotle location in the area for the next three months.
“This settlement is a huge win. Chipotle just got put on notice,” the group commented. “Union busting will not be tolerated and there’s no way around it.”
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