EEOC alleges Chipotle supervisor pulled on, removed Muslim worker’s hijab

• Chipotle violated the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when a supervisor subjected a teenage Muslim worker to a “barrage of harassing conduct,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit filed Sept. 27. The company also retaliated against the worker by failing to schedule her for shifts after she tendered her two-weeks’ notice, the agency said.
• According to court documents, the worker’s supervisor repeatedly asked the employee to remove her hijab — 10 to 15 times over the course of a month — saying he wanted to see her hair. The worker complained to the shift manager, who witnessed the conduct, according to the EEOC. While the shift manager once asked the supervisor to stop, the harassment continued. Eventually, the supervisor pulled the hijab from the worker’s head, resulting in its partial removal. The worker submitted her resignation the following day.
• “We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind and we have terminated the employee in question,” Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, Laurie Schalow, said in a statement sent to HR Dive. “Chipotle’s engaged and hard-working employees are what makes us great, and we encourage our employees to contact us immediately, including through an anonymous 800 number, with any concerns so we can investigate and respond quickly to make things right.”