Ex-Chipotle Manager Accused of Stealing $626 Given $8 Million for Wrongful Termination

Jeanette Ortiz was fired for allegedly stealing $626 in cash. Failing to provide surveillance footage of the incident, jurors ordered Chipotle to cough up.

Chipotle
Getty

Image via Getty/Scott Olson

Chipotle

According to the NY Daily News, a former Chipotle manager just got nearly $8 million for being wrongfully terminated in 2015. 

Jeanette Ortiz was accused of stealing $626 in cash, from the safe of Fresno Chipotle Mexican Grill. She was quickly fired for this blatant thievery, and justice was served. Right? Well, not quite—while her superiors maintained that the act was caught on tape, they failed to provide this purported surveillance footage and claimed it was destroyed. Frankly, claiming your main piece of evidence was eradicated isn’t exactly the best legal argument in a courtroom. 

Fortunately for Ortiz, the California jury thought so too. Her wrongful termination suit was warmly received by jurors last week and resulted in them ordering Chipotle to award Ortiz $7.97 million in damages. The jury stated that the former manager was a victim of defamation, and purposefully terminated for a false claim because she filed for worker’s compensation when she injured her wrist on the job. 

At the time, her bosses presumably felt this was the smart, business-savvy method of avoiding any compensation. As of last week, of course, they’d probably love to give her that worker’s comp—instead of nearly $8 million. As for Ortiz, she won’t have to work another day in her life, and can promptly go on vacation and luxuriate in her righteously hard-earned, newfound wealth. May we suggest a trip to Mexico, just to throw some fun-loving shade on the company?

Latest in Life