Posted on 02/03/2011 5:32:04 PM PST by moonshinner_09
A group of workers that Chipotle Mexican Grill fired for being illegal immigrants sued the restaurant chain on Thursday, alleging that it didnt comply with a Minnesota law requiring all back pay to be distributed promptly.
Last month, Chipotle said it fired a substantial number of its 1,200 Minnesota workers starting in December, after a federal immigration audit found some of them to be illegal immigrants.
Participants in a protest against the firings put the number at 700. The company wouldnt say how many there were, but a source close to the investigation put the number closer to 350.
Up to 75 of those former workers filed a class-action suit alleging that Chipotle violated the Minnesota Payment of Wages Act, said Greg Nammacher, secretary-treasurer of Service Employees International Union Local 26.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Good thinking. But it doesn’t work that way with wage and hour laws. Those are designed to keep the employers in line — not the employees.
If the employers were immune from wage and hours laws when hiring illegals they would hire plenty more... I am suing one employer who doesn’t hire whites or blacks because he only wants illegals because they don’t complain. 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week, no overtime. Sexual harassment/coercion of the females. My client is legal (an Indian)...the business owners are Indian as well.
I am an employee side lawyer. You come to me with a shorted check or unpaid final check and I will sue the bastards in a heartbeat. Not paying someone for work they have already done is theft. Dirty rotten theft.
But of course, even though it seems pretty likely, I don't know for sure that these people are all illegal aliens. If I did, would I turn them in and get them all fired? I admit that I'm not sure. I have a negative opinion of a company that would knowingly base their success on illegal alien labor. But if the de facto American system is to allow businesses to operate like this, can I really fault an individual worker who tries to make the most of his opportunities in life?
Besides, all the employees seem nice. I guess they can't afford not to be.
Maybe I'm a hypocrite for continuing to be a customer of this place. But certainly the situation is obvious to all the customers.
What if the employee is fired for cause, such as providing a false social security number, or stealing from the company? Are they still entitled to back pay?
http://www.twincities.com/ci_16754546?IADID=Search-www.twincities.com-www.twincities.com
Most of the workers who lost their jobs are Mexican nationals who at one time had work visas that have since expired. The workers had jobs that paid $12 to $14 per hour, health insurance and a 401(k) plan.
This doesnt seem to me like “jobs that Americans wont do” !
hopefully the employer gets fined AND the union,too
Ping!
It had to be prosecuted like a bad check from any other customer. Good luck with that one when she was skipping town.
Thanks for the info...I’ll check the laws here in Missouri...you never know when this might come up at my business...magritte
FWIW, the store I worked at was in California, early 1980's. It still frosts me that an employee could intentionally bounce a check and we had to give her the last check with nothing deducted for outright fraud!
The rules vary by state, but the only case I know of where an employer can with hold money from a paycheck is when a cashier turns in a short-till, assuming the cashier had complete control of the till and you only deduct the shortage that occurred in the current/last pay period when you fire them. E.g., $50 dollar short-till discovered, till in complete control of employee, employee immediately fired then $50 dollars can be with held from last paycheck.
Allowing theft, and breaking stuff, can be applied the same way. But generally it is more hassle than it is worth so just pay their full check. And then sue them in small claims for the losses/damages.
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