EEOC sues Chipotle for religious discrimination and retaliation

National restaurant chain Chipotle violated federal law when a manager at the company’s Lenexa, Kansas location harassed a teen worker for wearing a hijab and when the company retaliated against her after she complained, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed last week. The agency further alleged the teen was forced to resign because of the discriminatory treatment. According to the complaint, despite the teen’s rejections and complaints to management, Chipotle failed to act to stop the manager’s harassment. Chipotle’s inaction resulted in the manager escalating his abuse, ultimately grabbing and forcibly removing part of the teen’s hijab. After the teen reported the incident, Chipotle again failed to take prompt corrective action, and she was forced to submit her two weeks’ notice. The EEOC further alleges that Chipotle retaliated against the teen by refusing to schedule her to work additional shifts unless she agreed to transfer locations, while allowing her harasser to continue working at the same location. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination – including harassment – because of a person’s religion. The law also prohibits retaliation against employees who complaint about discriminatory treatment. The EEOC seeks monetary relief for the victim, as well as an order prohibiting future religious discrimination, and other relief.