After giving birth to twins and losing one of her babies, a new mother returned to work from maternity leave while the remaining baby was still in the hospital. She was fired a short time later. Another female worker was fired even though she was previously rewarded with job promotions and honorable assessments of her performance. The last woman was discharged, only to be replaced with a man. Shortly before her dismissal, her supervisor wrote that he was very impressed with her work.
The women, Tina Reynolds, Stephanie Ochoa and Elizabeth Rodgers, all former general managers at Chipotle restaurants located in Greater Cincinnati have filed suit against the establishment for gender discrimination.
Two male supervisors who worked for Chipotle are at the root of the misconduct; Herman Mobbs, former area manager, and his supervisor, Brian Patterson. Mobbs is being accused of giving favorable treatment to male supervisors despite women who received exemplary performance reviews. It was also Mobbs who allegedly texted a female employee and told her she was “too emotional” and once commented “There sure are a lot of overweight women working here.”
The attorney representing the three women said that Mobbs was a sexist.
But Lawyers representing the restaurant chain dispute that claim. They insist that Mobbs was in control of the hiring and firing and did so based on employee performance. According to the lawyers, all three employees were let go based on the premises of their work. The attorneys pointed to a heap of adverse reviews for all three women –most of the reviews drawn up by Mobbs.
The discrimination suits could not have come at a more sensitive time for the Mexican grill establishment. Last year Chipotle created media attention when they became the focal point of a multitude of E.Coli and Norovirus cases.
Since then, sales for the restaurant have plummeted.
However, plans to revive business for the eatery are in the works –one strategy is to shut down all of its locations on Feb. 8 so that they can educate the employees about food scares.
Have you or someone you know been the victim of gender discrimination in the workplace?
If so, you should immediately contact an experienced employment discrimination attorney. No female worker should have to succumb to poor treatment just because her boss is sexist. Just the same, it is unfair for any male employee to experience less than favorable treatment because he is a man. Anyone subjected to this type of treatment deserves justice. Call us at 800-807-2209 for a free consultation.
