A federal agency is suing restaurant chain Chipotle, accusing it of religious harassment and retaliation after a manager at a Kansas restaurant forcibly removed an employee’s hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims that an assistant manager at a Chipotle restaurant in Lenexa, Kansas, repeatedly harassed the employee in 2021, asking her to show him her hair, even though she refused. The harassment culminated weeks later when he grabbed and partially removed her hijab, the lawsuit says.
The complaint alleges that the manager “rudely and repeatedly asked” her to remove her hijab and attempted to do so herself, which was “unwelcome, intentional, harsh, religious-based conduct and created a Hostile work environment”.
Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, said the company encourages employees to report concerns, including through an anonymous hotline.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination of any kind and we have terminated the employee involved,” she said in an emailed statement.
The harassment began in July 2021 when the manager began asking the then-19-year-old employee to remove her hijab because he wanted to see her hair. According to the complaint, he asked to see her hair at least 10 times over a month. She refused each time, saying she wore it because of her religious beliefs.
The employee complained to another supervisor that the incidents made her feel uncomfortable, but no further action was taken against the manager, the complaint states. One night during closing time in August 2021, the manager allegedly reached over and pulled part of the hijab off her head.
The next day, the employee gave her two weeks’ notice. Chipotle did not schedule her shift during those two weeks, even though other non-Muslim employees who submitted notices continued to be scheduled to work during that time, the complaint alleges.
The lawsuit alleges that Chipotle violated federal civil rights laws that protect employees and job applicants from discrimination based on religion, race, ethnicity, sex and national origin.
The EEOC said in the lawsuit that it wants Chipotle to enact policies that provide equal employment opportunities to employees of all religious beliefs and to pay compensation to employees.
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