A federal agency is suing national fast food chain Chipotle after a Muslim employee at the company’s Lenexa franchise was allegedly harassed and her hijab forcibly removed from her head by her manager.
In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims the employee was deprived of her rights and faced retaliation when she complained about her manager’s behavior.
The alleged incidents occurred in 2021
The employee, who was 19 at the time, worked as a line server at the Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurant on West 87th Street Parkway.
She alleged an assistant manager asked multiple times to see her hair under her hijab over a two-month period.
After she says she refused multiple times, the manager attempted to pull it off her head.
The employee then filed a police report, accusing the manager of assault and battery. She said her cousin, who worked with her at the same Chipotle, experienced similar harassment.
Following the incident, the Kansas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-Kansas, provided support for the employee and filed a complaint on behalf of her with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
After CAIR-Kansas filed its complaint, Chipotle confirmed it had fired the manager at the center of the alleged harassment, and a company spokeswoman said Chipotle had a “zero tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind.”
The EEOC investigates workplace discrimination
The EEOC claims the teen later was forced to resign because Chipotle failed to protect her from the discriminatory treatment.
“Chipotle failed to act to stop the manager’s harassment. Chipotle’s inaction resulted in the manager escalating his abuse, ultimately grabbing and forcibly removing part of the teen’s hijab,” EEOC said in a statement.
The agency alleges that after the teen reported the incident, Chipotle also failed to take prompt action against the manager, and she was forced to submit her two weeks’ notice of resignation.
The lawsuit alleges Chipotle broke federal civil rights law
The EEOC alleges Chipotle violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination – including harassment – based on a person’s religion.
The law also prohibits retaliation against employees who complain about discriminatory treatment.
The EEOC said it is seeking monetary relief for the victim, as well as an order prohibiting future religious discrimination.
The Post has reached out to Chipotle for comment and will update this story when we hear back.
Go deeper: Chipotle says it has fired manager who allegedly forcibly removed Lenexa employee’s hijab
