Chipotle Mexican Grill says it has fired an assistant manager who allegedly forcibly removed an employee’s hijab at one of the restaurant’s Lenexa locations.
Chipotle reported to the Shawnee Mission Post earlier this month that it was looking into the incident and on Friday, confirmed it had fired the manager.
“We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind and we have terminated the employee in question following a thorough investigation,” said Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer for Chipotle, in a statement.
“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,” Schalow continued.
The alleged incident
The 19-year-old woman, who lives in Lenexa and attended Shawnee Mission schools, said the Aug. 9 incident occurred after the assistant manager had asked multiple times to see her hair over the past two months at the Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant on West 87th Street Parkway.
The Shawnee Mission Post is not naming the woman in order to protect her privacy. She said she resigned her position at Chipotle the day after the alleged incident occurred.
The Kansas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-Kansas, is providing support for the employee and had called on Chipotle to terminate the assistant manager’s employment.
In a statement, Moussa Elbayoumy, CAIR-Kansas board chair, shared mixed feelings about the outcome.
“We welcome the announcement of terminating the offending assistant manager by Chipotle,” Elbayoumy said. “However, we expect more cultural sensitivity training and tighter oversight of performance and implementation of policies to ensure that no other employee is subjected to this level of harassment and abuse.”
CAIR-Kansas filed a complaint on behalf of the woman with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regarding the incident.
Click here to access a copy of the EEOC complaint.
The woman, who resigned her position the day after the alleged incident, also filed a police report with the Lenexa Police Department. A spokesperson for the police department said the investigation is ongoing.
