Chipotle store ignored young Washington workers’ sex harassment complaints, suit says
Young female Chipotle workers were targeted by fellow employees and sexually harassed and assaulted after higher-ups failed to investigate, according to a lawsuit filed against the fast food chain.
The lawsuit, filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 9, said supervisors at a Seattle-area location “repeatedly ignored” the young women’s reports of harassment and created a “toxic work environment.”
Chipotle did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on March 10.
The chain’s Sammamish store was the site of sexual harassment by two employees: one male service manager and a male crew member, the lawsuit said.
The two targeted young female workers, the EEOC, which protects and enforces anti-discrimination laws in workplaces, said.
A 16-year-old employee was targeted by her 29-year-old service manager in 2019 with “unwelcome sexual comments, touching and requests for sex,” the lawsuit said. Another manager reported the 29-year-old, but the lawsuit said the general manager did not investigate.
Instead, the general manager warned the 16-year-old employee she could be terminated for having an “inappropriate relationship” with her service manager, the EEOC said.
The general manager continued to schedule the teen evening closing shifts with the service manager, the EEOC said, and eventually the 16-year-old was sexually assaulted by him. He went on to harass others, the lawsuit said.
Then in 2020, workers complained about a a 24-year-old male crew member who repeatedly sexually harassed workers with comments on their bodies, according to the EEOC. He also called them unwelcome names like “mama,” “sweetheart” and “baby girl,” the lawsuit said.
Chipotle said it would investigate but allowed the crew member to return to work where he “angrily confronted those who had complained,” according to the lawsuit. Two workers who feared for their safety quit their jobs due to the company’s lack of action, the EEOC said.
“This case involves workers in their teens and early 20s. These are their first impressions they will they form about the workplace, and it is devastating when an employer permits sexual harassment to continue despite repeated complaints,” Nancy Sienko, director for the EEOC’s San Francisco District, which includes Washington state, said in a news release. “We want to send a clear and opposing message: every worker has a right to a workplace free from sexual harassment, and the EEOC will hold employers accountable.”
The EEOC is looking for compensation for lost wages and emotional distress for the workers and a change in policy to ensure Chipotle workers are protected from harassment.
Sammamish is about 20 miles east of Seattle.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Chipotle store ignored young Washington workers’ sex harassment complaints, suit says."
