Lenexa Police Investigate Allegation Chipotle Manager Removed Hijabs From Employees

[ad_1]

Lenexa Police are investigating after a Chipotle employee said a deputy manager removed his hijab at work.

The 19-year-old, who lives in Lenexa and attended Shawnee Mission schools, said the August 9 incident occurred after the deputy principal repeatedly asked to see her hair over the course of the two last few months at the Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant on 87th Street West Promenade.

The Shawnee Mission Post does not name the woman in order to protect her privacy.

Lenexa police confirm details of allegations

In an interview, the woman told the Post that wearing the hijab is a strongly held religious belief for her and that other Muslim women, including her cousin, who was also employed in the same Chipotle franchise and allegedly suffered a similar harassment from the same assistant. director.

The woman filed a police report with Lenexa police, accusing the manager of assault and battery. The two women filed their two-week notice to stop working at Chipotle last week, she said.

Officer Danny Chavez, public information officer for the Lenexa Police Department, confirmed that the alleged victim filed a report on August 13 and that the case is being investigated by a detective and continues.

According to Lenexa Police, a police report containing an account of the alleged incident has not yet been approved for public viewing, but Chavez has confirmed that the account contains information on the allegation, date and the location the post first received from the Kansas chapter of the Council on US-Islamic Relations.

The Kansas Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations provides support for the Chipotle employee. Above, Moussa Elbayoumy, chapter president, said the hijab is an expression of a Muslim woman’s modesty and religious beliefs. ” It’s humiliating ”

CAIR-Kansas, which offers legal aid to the young woman, this week called on the Chipotle restaurant to fire the assistant manager.

Moussa Elbayoumy, president of CAIR-Kansas, said they also wanted to bring criminal charges, but more importantly they wanted to help the woman protect her civil rights and make sure the deputy director understands the impact of her behavior. .

Doing without the hijab is like having another woman forced to walk naked on the street, Elbayoumy said, adding that the hijab is an expression of a Muslim woman’s modesty. It’s so strong. This is why when someone forces a woman to take off her hijab, it is humiliating.

Laurie Schalow, director of corporate affairs at Chipotle, said the company was also investigating the incident.

We are aware of these allegations and are currently conducting an internal investigation, Schalow said in a statement. We take this matter very seriously and work directly with the employees involved.

A chain of alleged harassment

From July, the deputy director reportedly started asking the woman if he could see her hair.

She said she replied that she wears the hijab for religious reasons and will not take it off at work.

The hijab is a commitment to my religion; it’s not just a head scarf, she told the Post. It represents who I am and how I act. It’s for me; it is my personal choice to wear it.

The assistant manager allegedly repeated the same request while the employee continued to work.

After they closed for the evening of Monday, August 9, the assistant manager again reportedly asked to see the employees’ hair. After she said no, according to the woman, he forcibly removed the hijab from her head and exposed the back of her hair.

I kept telling her ‘No’ and I thought it would end there, she said. I was just begging him to stop, and he just didn’t want to. The day he succeeded I felt so shocked. I felt so exposed and humiliated. If he had the confidence to do it, what else can he do?

The woman said she had reported the behavior of assistant managers on several occasions, including to a shift manager and to Chipotle’s human resources, but no one in the company had taken action yet.

I hope he really understands that what he did was very, very wrong, she said. And I also want Chipotle to understand and deal with the situation better. My main goal is for people to understand why this is so important to me and to other Muslims. I want everyone to feel comfortable being who they are and express their own beliefs.

It is unclear whether the deputy director accused of removing the woman’s hijab remains employed at Chipotle or if he still works for the Lenexa franchise.

[ad_2]