Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) is being subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission about its hiring practices, the latest development in government investigations scrutinizing its employees’ immigration statuses.
Chipotle says it received word on Thursday of the SEC’s formal investigation–one that follows audits by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department, or ICE, alleging Chipotle employed undocumented workers in some markets.
The initial ICE investigation, which began in 2010 and resulted in Chipotle terminating about 450 illegal workers in Minnesota, was followed by a U.S. Attorneys Office probe in 2011. So far, the investigations have spanned the regions of Minnesota, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Los Angeles and Atlanta.