Chipotle busted for hiring illegal workers
Posted by By G&A Partners at 11 March, at 20 : 42 PM Print
When you think of delicious, affordable burritos that are high in nutrition, Chipotle Grill usually is one of the first restaurants that come to mind. However, when you think about illegal immigrants working the kitchen of a national restaurant chain, Chipotle is one of the last places you would expect.
In 2010, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted an investigation on certain Chipotle restaurants in Minnesota and found that over 450 employees were not eligible for hire and were fired immediately. Since then, the ICE has moved on to Chipotle operations in other states in hopes of discovering more illegal workers.
How could a publicly traded chain that has such tasty food, sleek dining areas and a creative staff who are able to fold even the largest of burritos into a deliciously crafted roll , be filled with hundreds of undocumented workers?
“Food with Integrity”?
The Wall Street Journal reports on how Chipotle’s workers got away with working illegally for some time. But Chipotle is just scratching the surface on the amount of companies that employ illegal immigrants, sometimes knowingly.
Most small business owners would pride themselves on being able to “hire” these undocumented workers because they haven’t been caught YET and they’ve saved money in the short term.
But with the immigration bill pressing the Obama Administration upping their investigations, it’s likely that these business owners are likely to pay significantly more than what they saved in“cheap” labor. Immigration laws state “Employers cannot KNOWINGLY hire or continue to employ individuals without employment authorization.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has collected a record breaking “$7 Million in civil fines on businesses that employed illegal workers.”
How can businesses stay compliant when hiring?
Here are some employee hiring best practices to follow from our Human Resources Experts:
- Properly Complete the I-9 for every person hired to perform labor or services in exchange for wages or other compensation
- Make offer of employment before examining documents
- Re-verify expired Employment Authorization Documents, not Legal Permanent Resident Cards
- Verify the IDENTITY and WORK AUTHORIZATION of every new employee
- Verify the RENEWAL of expired, temporary work authorization documents
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Bill, 2 years ago
I believe that the government really needs to crack down on companies that are knowingly hiring illegal aliens. Great post!
Nancy Edwards, 2 years ago
Sometimes an employee may present a receipt for replacement of a lost or stolen acceptable document. Write in “receipt” and the document number on the “Document #” line on the I-9. When the employee presents the actual document, cross out the word “receipt” and document number that you wrote in earlier, and insert the document number from the actual document. Initial and date the change.
Tina Rodriguez, 2 years ago
Great Posting!! alot of well know chains think they can get away with cheap labor. I agree with Bill, the government needs to crack down on the hiring of undocumented worker.
business, 2 years ago
The I-9 form is an employment eligibility document meant to determine a persons ability to work legally in the United States. At the end of the day the goal is to ensure that the companies have an authorized legal workforce and also that employers are aware of their responsibility to ensure the people they hire are lawful the official said.The I-9 strategy is believed to be a more effective use of the agencys investigative resources putting the onus on the audited company to take corrective action the official added.Chipotle has done what ICE has asked of us and are looking to put that incident behind us Arnold said.The crackdown coincides with recent judiciary hearings in Arizona in which lawmakers debated proposals to end birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.Nearly one-third of Americas 38 million immigrants are illegal just under four percent of the total U.S. population according to recent reports from the Pew Hispanic Research Center and the Brookings Institute a Washington-based think tank.Of those many are employed in low-wage restaurants jobs.But analysts debate the broader economic impact of illegal immigration in the United States.Critics often blame the large undocumented workforce for siphoning public resources while forcing a drop in wages or displacing low-skilled U.S.-born workers.Advocates say consumers benefit from lower prices as a result of the lower wages paid to illegal workers arguing that they fill unskilled labor gaps and create work opportunities for higher-skilled higher-paid workers who are often native born.Illegal immigration nationally doesnt seem to make a significant difference to the broader U.S. immigration policy. The real impact is at local levels Singer said pointing to state and local law enforcement schools and health care systems that pay for an undocumented workforce that may or may not contribute tax revenue for services rendered.But as record unemployment rates affect cities and towns across the country immigrants — particularly illegal immigrants — are being targeted she said.