Episode 139 -- DOJ Resolves Two Food Safety Criminal Cases -- Blue Bell Creameries and Chipotle Mexican Grills
On March 31, 2023, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, on behalf of the five New York City retirement systems, announced a new shareholder proposal at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., asking the board of directors to adopt a...more
Most NAD challenges are initiated by competitors, but NAD can also initiate its own inquiries as part of its mission to independently monitor national ads for truthfulness and accuracy. Over the past few months, NAD has...more
More details on that massive ransomware hack that hit Colonial Pipeline over the weekend. The FBI has confirmed that hacking group DarkSide was responsible and that it’s “looking for any ties the group might have to...more
The Fed’s Open Market Committee meeting broke yesterday leaving rates at near-zero and pledging to “continue buying government-backed bonds at a steady pace as it tries to support the economy’s recovery from the coronavirus...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to fill a gaping hole in our Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) jurisprudence: What, precisely, is meant by “similarly situated,” as set forth in 29 U.S.C. 216(b)? The request comes in a...more
Restaurant Allowed Coworker to Repeatedly Harass Manager and Fired Her for Complaining, Federal Agency Charges - TAMPA, Fla. – Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., an international restaurant chain, violated federal law when a...more
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
In the Chipotle Mexican Grill case, DOJ entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) in exchange for the payment of a $25 million penalty stemming from a string of foodborne-illness cases between 2015 and...more
In an important set of criminal prosecutions for food safety violations, the Justice Department recently announced resolutions with Blue Bell Creameries and Chipotle Mexican Grill....more
The Justice Department recently resolved two food safety criminal cases involving Blue Bell Ice Cream and Chipotle Mexican Grills. In its largest food safety recovery to date, Chipotle agreed to a three-year deferred...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
The Senate has passed a $484 billion measure that would add $130 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program, the “small-business loan program that ran out of funding last week after being deluged with applications.” The bill...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Second Circuit has held that the standard for final FLSA collective action certification is less stringent than the standard for class action certification under Rule 23....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
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - FTC Issues Warning Letters to CBD Companies - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has announced that it sent warning letters to three companies selling “oils, tinctures, capsules,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After a federal magistrate judge in California ordered the EEOC to provide written discovery responses relative to the substance its pre-suit investigation of a sex discrimination charge in EEOC v. Chipotle...more
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is the latest prominent government official to express concerns about Facebook’s coming Libra launch. Speaking at a briefing yesterday, Mnuchin focused on national security issues related to...more
For years, plaintiffs in data breach class actions have argued that the threshold for Article III standing is low – and increasingly courts are accepting that argument....more
Lyft had a banner debut on the public markets, with its shares jumping 8.7% “after opening at $87.24, far above the public offering price of $72.” Some analysts are interpreting the strong showing as a sign that the gig...more
Regional lenders BB&T and SunTrust have announced plans to “unite in an all-stock deal” that would value the combined bank at $66 billion. The new lender would be the sixth-largest in the US, and, if allowed, would be created...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - FDA Seeks Input on Plant-Based Milks - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has solicited public input on questions related to plant-based substitutes for dairy products...more
When Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. fired store manager Jeanette Ortiz, accusing her of stealing $626 in cash from the safe, it could never have expected its minimal theft loss to balloon into a nearly $8 million jury verdict...more
LEGISLATION, REGULATIONS & STANDARDS - INTERIOR DEPT. TO ALLOW GMO CULTIVATION ON NATIONAL LANDS - The U.S. Department of the Interior has reportedly withdrawn a 2014 memorandum prohibiting the cultivation of genetically...more