Episode 139 -- DOJ Resolves Two Food Safety Criminal Cases -- Blue Bell Creameries and Chipotle Mexican Grills
Examining Price-Gouging Allegations During COVID-19 Pandemic - Shook Partner Katie Gates Calderon and Associate Elizabeth Fessler have authored “Best Practices for Food and Beverage Pricing Right Now” for Law360, which...more
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine, the largest ever in a food safety case, to resolve criminal charges related to the company's involvement in foodborne illness outbreaks that sickened more...more
On April 21, 2020, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (Chipotle) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with norovirus and Clostridium perfringens...more
Massachusetts has fined Chipotle $1.4 million as part of a settlement with the restaurant chain over accusations that “it routinely violated [state] labor laws, with authorities estimating more than 13,000 violations from...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 15, 2020, in Guzman v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., No. 17-CV-02606-HSG, 2020 WL 227567 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 15, 2020), Judge Haywood Gilliam of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit will soon decide key issues for FLSA practitioners: whether settlements pursuant to an Offer of Judgment are subject to court review and approval, and whether the standards for final...more
EU to Issue Guidelines on Discriminatory Food Distribution - European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has reportedly indicated the EU will issue guidelines discouraging companies from selling apparently identical...more
Wednesday a group of Chipotle employees brought suit in New Jersey federal court alleging FLSA violations stemming from Chipotle’s failure to follow the Obama-era salary-basis regulations. As you will recall, these...more
The Court’s opinion in Scott v. Chipotle Mexican Grill demonstrates how employers can successfully combat class action claims that employees were misclassified as exempt. The successful defense of the class certification...more
Food for Thought is a review of significant court decisions affecting the food, beverage, dietary supplements and personal care products industry. Although many cases in this edition focus on class certification, others...more
Turns out that running the show at Valeant has given Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman quite the appetite. He’s looking to satisfy that hunger (and get back to the business of maximizing returns by pushing companies to make...more
Drafting a social media policy in compliance with Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “the Act”) has become increasingly challenging for employers, as the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “the...more
Last week, lunch came back to bite dozens of unsuspecting diners throughout Washington and Oregon. Something in Chipotle’s fresh, healthy, and responsibly-sourced fast food caused uncharacteristic sickness for those...more
Client agents/consultants normally fall outside privilege protection, unless they help facilitate communications between the client and lawyer. Recognizing this, some lawyers seek privilege protection by hiring the...more
On March 27, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the plaintiffs’ motion to compel disclosure of a report prepared by a Human Resources (“HR”) consultant in class action litigation under...more
Employee Fired Day After Arriving at Work with Shunt in Arm for Intravenous Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis, Federal Agency Charges - BOSTON - Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., a Colorado-based nationwide restaurant chain,...more