Chipotle is being sued over an alleged cover up of a Norovirus outbreak in August at a Simi Valley, California restaurant. The Chipotle Norovirus suit comes on the tail of a Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota and an E. coli outbreak in Seattle. Those last two outbreaks covered 23 locations and caused illness in 69 Chipotle customers.
Chipotle is being sued over an alleged cover up of a Norovirus outbreak in August at a Simi Valley, California restaurant. The Chipotle Norovirus suit comes on the tail of a Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota and an E. coli outbreak in Seattle. Those last two outbreaks covered 23 locations and caused illness in 69 Chipotle customers.
In this outbreak, we’re dealing with Norovirus, a highly contagious illness that used to be call Norwalk virus. The most familiar cases of Norovirus are those found on cruise ships. The illness causes diarrhea and vomiting and is quite dangerous.
There are eight plaintiffs in the Chipotle Norovirus suit: one adult and seven minors, all of whom suffered symptoms for two days. According to the suit, one, a 16-year-old, lost 13 pounds over that two-day period.
The details of the suit reveal not only a bad decision on the part of this particular location, but also a problem that is endemic in the world of fast food restaurants. Plaintiffs allege that from August 18 – 20 2015, the kitchen manager at the Simi Valley location prepared and handled food while having symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness. This was a direct violation of Chipotle’s food safety policy.
The kitchen manager went to a doctor on August 20 and received a diagnosis of Norovirus infection. The doctor advised the kitchen manager to not return to work. Also on the 20th, customers began reporting illnesses, prompting management to implement the “Norwalk Protocol,” which involved closing the restaurant. The posted sign told the public the restaurant was closed due to a staffing problem.
At this point, let’s break this unfortunate incident into two paths: one, the poor way in which management handled the issue and two, a very real staffing issue in the industry as a whole.
Chipotle’s Response to the Outbreak
Management didn’t report the outbreak to authorities at the Ventura County Health Division. Rather than following procedure, the suit claims that employees were instructed to cover it up by “disposing of all food items, bleaching all cooking and food handling surfaces and replacing its sick employees with replacement employees from other restaurants before notifying county health officials of the outbreak.”
Customers who reported their illnesses to the manager on August 20 prior to the closing were told the food was fine and that the closure was caused by a shortage of staff. The manager gave each customer a coupon for a free meal.
Management re-opened the restaurant on Friday, August 21 using another location’s employees. The outbreak was not reported to health authorities until Saturday, August 22 and was done so via voicemail as the office was closed for the weekend. The report stated that 17 employees were ill and a new crew had replaced them. Plaintiffs claim that the restaurant purposely reported the outbreak on the weekend so as to avoid inspection until the following Monday.
Unfortunately, the alleged ploy worked. Due to the delay and the cover-up efforts, health officials said the type of inspection normally done after such a report was impossible. They conducted a general inspection instead and found several heath violations. These included a dirty bathroom and dirty floors, walls and ceilings.
Issues in the Industry
While I in no way condone the management’s behavior, including that of the kitchen manager who was the source of the outbreak, I can understand it. The fast food industry is often more demanding on employees than is generally known by the public. This is especially true of those in management positions and even more so if the location is a franchise and not a corporate-run store. Note: I was unable to determine the franchise status of the Simi Valley Chipotle.
Food safety policies are always put in place and for very good reason. However, I am personally aware of several instances (none involving Chipotle) in which managers and even non-management staff have called in sick only to be told that they are to report to work if they expect continued employment. This practice puts the public at greater risk for exposure to illness.
I cannot say if this was the case in Simi Valley. However, it is a problem elsewhere. If you are an employee, manager or not, and are told that failure to report to work will result in your termination, it is quite likely that you will report to work, despite your better judgment and food safety policies.
While we would all like to think of ourselves as moral, upstanding citizens who always do the “right thing,” we also have financial responsibilities. Landlords are not likely to let you pay your rent with “morality points” and hungry children can’t be fed by doing the “right thing.”
I can’t defend such practices, nor would I attempt to do so. However, I can understand them. The “right thing” in such instances would be levying fines or penalties against employers who have such onerous employment practices. Not only would it prevent many such outbreaks, it would also make life in a demanding industry a bit more humane.
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