A civil jury ordered Chipotle Mexican Grill to pay a former manager of one of Fresno locations $7.97 million on Friday, May 11 for her wrongful termination from her role with the popular fast-food chain.
At trial, attorneys for Chipotle argued that the woman had been let go from her role in 2015 after discovering that $626 was missing from the restaurant’s safe. Apparently the woman’s bosses at the time even told her that surveillance footage taken at the store caught her red-handed stealing the money.
The woman’s attorneys argued at trial that she asked to see this reported video. When she did, they apparently told her that it was destroyed. Soon after her release from her role with Chipotle, the woman filed a wrongful termination lawsuit.
During the course the course of the trial, the plaintiff’s attorneys argued that the former Chipotle manager was accused of the theft as a way of getting back at the woman for previously filing a workers’ compensation claim.
Her attorney alleged that Chipotle’s leadership hoped that, by accusing the woman of theft, it would discredit her case for receiving lost wages, reimbursement of medical expenses and other compensation she was owed for injuring her wrist on the job.
Chipotle has refused to comment thus far on the the case. It’s unclear if they intend to appeal the jury’s award in this case.
If you’ve been let go from your job for what you suspect may be an unlawful reason, then a San Francisco wrongful termination attorney can advise you of your right to file a lawsuit in your case.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, “Ex-Chipotle manager gets $8 for wrongful termination,” May 13, 2018