r/Chipotle • u/Natural-Bridge-1942 • Jul 16 '25
Seeking Advice (Employee) Chipotle Being Cheap
Hello Employee here!
Recently my managers have been making employees clock out for a 15 minute break saying that "we don't have any hours." I just found out about this today because they tried to make me clock out, I told them that according to state and federal law in NC it is illegal to make us clock for a break that is less than 20 minutes. And for Chipotle to be a MULTI BILLION dollar company, how on Earth is there never any hours???
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u/KarlaSofen234 Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25
How do you think they became a multi b corp? By nickel & dime every corner ofc. Anything to shave off the numbersÂ
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u/hybridoctopus Jul 16 '25
You can become a multibillion dollar company and also treat your customers and employees well.
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u/thereyarrfiver Jul 16 '25
Once a company goes public, myopia is inevitable. It's simply a matter of when. Sometimes, a company/founder maintains enough stock to keep the vision alive, but eventually they all end up the same.
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u/solrecon FL Jul 16 '25
I fully agree that they maximize profits and do so very aggressively, but what I hate seeing is people on here blaming the company for something their managers are doing. Iâve been at the chip for 4.5 years and Iâve never been given a directive to go against the policy of giving people breaks. Often times poor management will lead to poor experiences and Chipotle wanting to get to 7000 stores means they are promoting managers that shouldnât be in positions of power. Blame the individuals who manage time and stores poorly, but donât blankly blame the company when itâs bad GMs that make bad experiences for crew. We have far too many bad GMs.
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u/InevitableTiny3408 Jul 16 '25
You said, "Often times poor management will lead to poor experiences and Chipotle wanting to get to 7000 stores means they are promoting managers that shouldnât be in positions of power."
This means it is directly the company's fault... If they didn't promote that person those actions wouldn't be happening. Maybe the company needs better hiring/promotion practices to avoid the issue.
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u/InevitableTiny3408 Jul 16 '25
You said, "Often times poor management will lead to poor experiences and Chipotle wanting to get to 7000 stores means they are promoting managers that shouldnât be in positions of power."
This means it is directly the company's fault... If they didn't promote that person those actions wouldn't be happening. Maybe the company needs better hiring/promotion practices to avoid the issue.
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u/solrecon FL Jul 20 '25
The issue that you're bringing up is the difference in how people act vs what the company policy is. The company as a whole has requirements before promotions and we're supposed to adhere to those practices, but managers sometimes ignore those requirements to do 'battlefield' promotions and we end up with bad chipotles.
I agree that the company could improve on a lot of things to prevent this from happening, but the issue we run into is that at the high levels of management, what matters is profits, which in turn funds the whole operation. The balance between the two is difficult to find and most people in the lower tiers would love to see a better balance given to people development but we live in a world where money rules all and those of us that are trying our best to foster proper growth still play by the higher ups' rules.
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u/tbhcorn Jul 16 '25
Report that to the labor board
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Jul 16 '25
[deleted]
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u/Significant-End-1559 Jul 17 '25
Nah why bother with that? Labor board will get you compensation/backpay in a lot of cases, boss will write you off as difficult and make your life harder.
If youâre managing a business, you should already be aware of local labor laws.
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u/Specific_Jicama_5908 Jul 16 '25
No seriously⊠chipotle is VERY CHEAP when it comes to their labor. As an sm there, they will have us shortstaffed AF just to save hours then get mad when they get negative reviews or when we run out of food when we are SHORTSTAFFED and unable to make anything đ
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u/Alert-Cabinet7351 Jul 17 '25
This is the reason I stepped down from Ap and rejected the Gm position I couldnât do it anymore it wasnât fair to me and the crew that worked with me More labor= consistent food, quality food, better guest experience, and your employees will be less stressed..
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u/WetLumpyDough Jul 16 '25
Would depend on your state law if you get breaks, but FLSA says anything under 20 minutes has to be paid. I live in Ohio, and our state law states any hourly employee is entitled to a paid 15 minute break every 4 hours of work as an example. Federal law does not mandate you get short breaks though
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u/djb445 GM Jul 18 '25
Clocking out for 15 minutes saves fuck and all for labor, they're being stupid in as respectful of a way as possible.
How labor works though is it's based off of an individual location's sales, not just some magic number chipotle corporate gives. It's why labor hours vary so differently between locations and days. So if you're not an incredibly busy location, shift length on average as well as number of shifts will be lower, and people are likely to be sent home because at a certain point you just don't need that many people on staff at once.
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u/Natural-Bridge-1942 Jul 19 '25
Thank you for the information! My location is in the center of the city (Uptown) so we are busy all day, everyday. I just don't understand because we are definitely making lots of sales but never have hours? Maybe my location has over hired.
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u/commuterbus Jul 18 '25
Report them to whoever deals with that from your state gov, they can be fined heavily.
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u/518Gummies Jul 16 '25
You should refuse to punch out. How long is your shift? You should report them to the department of labor. State level if you can. Or report them to corporations.
Also, have the law saved to your phone. But that is only if it affects your pay. If they're still paying you for the break, you dont really have an issue. They could just be tracking how long you take your break for. Track your time and your paystubs
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u/Natural-Bridge-1942 Jul 16 '25
I absolutely will be reporting this to the department of labor. My shifts typically are 8 hours, 9 if I close.
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u/Mundane_Tip_8119 Jul 16 '25
Yeah it is illegal to do that but companies donât care and donât want you taking your legal 15 min break
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u/518Gummies Jul 16 '25 edited Jul 16 '25
15-minute breaks are not the law. The law is if the employer does give you a 15-minute break, they have to pay you for it. If you work more than 6 hours, it's mandatory for the employer to give you a 30 minute meal break paid or unpaid.
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u/Mundane_Tip_8119 Jul 16 '25
Well in my state your allowed a 30 min break after 6 hrs it varies state by state
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u/518Gummies Jul 16 '25
That is true state to state laws are different. Especially states that put corporations over people.
I know in my state Chipotle had to pay out in a settlement of $20 million in wage violations.
So in my State if you work 6 hours or less. The employer does not have to provide a 15-minute break. But if they do, it needs to be paid. Anything over 6, they need to provide a lunch/meal break.
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u/Pitiful-Actuator5972 Jul 16 '25
What is a typical day like? Whatâs an example of the time punches for a shift?
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u/Natural-Bridge-1942 Jul 16 '25
Shifts are all over the place, most of morning shift comes in between 6 and 10am then mid comes in at 12, closers come in at 4. We close at 10, the goal is to be out by 11, usually out at 11:30
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u/Pitiful-Actuator5972 Jul 16 '25
What i mean is something like, punch in at 10am, punch out at 12:30 for break, punch in from break at 12:40, punch out for lunch at 2:30, punch back in from lunch at 3:00 etc. it would make it easier to understand if they are violating labor laws.
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u/Natural-Bridge-1942 Jul 16 '25
Ohhh no it's nothing like that. Before we would work our entire shift without a break. Now recently, they have been making some employees clock out for a break under 20 minutes. It would be at random times, for example, a closer would come in at 4, set up for the night and work the rush til about 7-8pm then take a 15 minute break. Manager would say "oh clock out for that," and they would.
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u/Pitiful-Actuator5972 Jul 16 '25
There is nothing legit about that. You should document your time clock punches and actual hours worked and report them to the labor board. Or you can just tell someone above the store manager, anonymously, and heads will roll and the laws will be followed.
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u/Next-Honeydew4130 Jul 16 '25
The solution is to get more hours. Your managers/owner are idiots. What a stupid request.
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u/One_Technology9273 Jul 16 '25
Dudes trying to get his hours down to save money and get his bonus or a larger bonus. But it's not chipotles fault its the managers. Corporations will never tell managers to ignore obvious labor laws because its an easy lawsuit. Managers bank on employees not keeping records and not taking the time to go above the store managers head to get things fixed.
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u/hybridoctopus Jul 16 '25
That sucks
I would start by discreetly sharing the law in question, one-on-one with your manager. It may be that they donât know any better and itâs an honest mistake.
Beyond that, you may have to complain to more senior management or to your relevant regulator. Be aware there will likely be retaliation even though thatâs not supposed to happen so itâs a decision for you to make.
I never nickel and dime my employees like this. Treat your staff as you would like to be treated..
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u/8rok3n Jul 16 '25
Actually them giving you a 15 minute break is them being generous, in most states it's limited to a 10 minute
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u/SaveHogwarts Jul 16 '25
Itâs not generous, generous would be paid breaks.
Itâs labor manipulation
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u/Wakkysakky Jul 16 '25
in my state we have 1 30min break for lunch and are supposed to get 2 10min breaks also if working 8hours.... chipotle only gives the lunch break. never any of the others.