Two older workers fired, two younger ones in – and a termination paper trail that raised eyebrows
Age discrimination. A top performer fired. A younger replacement hired. A federal court just sided with Chipotle.
On March 2, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in favor of Chipotle Services, LLC, upholding the firing of a field leader in his mid-to-late 50s who had been named a top performer just weeks before his termination. The case touches on issues that HR professionals navigate every day: how terminations are documented, what managers are expected to know about the performance of their entire teams, and how quickly a strong track record can be overtaken by a serious operational failure.
Donald Sousa had worked for Chipotle since 2019, overseeing between six and nine restaurants across New Mexico. By all accounts, he was excelling. In February 2022, the company recognized him as a top-performing field leader based on his previous year's results, and his food safety audit scores ranked among the best in the entire company. Then came a cockroach problem that changed everything.
A severe infestation was reported at one of his locations near the University of New Mexico in early February 2022. When Sousa and his supervisor, team director Patrick Hannan, visited the store, they found it extremely dirty with dozens of cockroaches present. Sousa arranged pest control visits and worked to address the situation, but the problems continued. Weeks...
Kenneth Scott Miller, 48, is charged with a felony count of making a false report to law enforcement. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $500 bond. According to an Escambia County ...