Councilmembers Take Up Cause Of Fired Chipotle Employees

Chipotle fired 40 employees from two DC-area locations last week as part of the burrito chain's nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration, and two DC councilmembers have taken up the workers' cause. The Washington City Paper reports that Councilmembers Michael A. Brown and Jim Graham have penned a letter to Phil Petrilli, Chipotle's regional director, asking him to address the concerns of his former employees.

The workers have accused Chipotle of unfair dismissal, having been replaced without prior notice, as well as intimidation based on their ethnicity and legal status. In the letter, the councilmembers express concern and write that "these former employees are entitled to receive their full pay of all wages and benefits accrued during their employment at Chipotle through the date of separation." All this just a little more than a month after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement served Chipotle with inspection notices for all of its restaurants in DC and Virginia.

· D.C. Councilmembers to Chipotle: Pay Up [WCP]
· All Previous Chipotle Coverage [-EDC-]

Chipotle [Photo: Aranami/Flickr]