State College may not have the only Chipotle where employees feel like they are experiencing “sweatshop-like conditions.”

Much attention was sparked last week from Penn State students, and even some national news outlets, when Chipotle, 116 Heister St., in downtown State College temporarily closed on Sept. 10. Chipotle closed because several employees voted to hang up a sign claiming “sweatshop-like conditions.”

Stephen Healy, a former Chipotle part-time manager of two years, described the conditions he experienced at Chipotle, saying employees were forced to work up to 11-hour shifts, sometimes more, without any breaks or food.

Healy (senior-philosophy) also said last week many employees wanted to quit, as many of the managers did, but they felt financially coerced into staying.

Although Healy said he didn’t believe the conditions of the State College restaurant were consistent among all Chipotles, an employee of the Havertown Chipotle James Kennedy related to the claims Healy made.

Kennedy recently became a Chipotle crew member after serving in the army for several years and finishing his communications degree at Southern New Hampshire University, he said.

When Kennedy first heard about what happened last week at State College’s Chipotle, he said his initial reaction was, “they’re busted.”

Kennedy was happy to see someone stepping up and doing something, he said, and he commended Healy for not trying to start a union.

For the past month, Kennedy said he experienced similar conditions at the Havertown Chipotle to the ones Healy described. The employees are always encouraged to clock in early and stay late despite their preliminary schedules, he added.

Kennedy said the employees are often told, specifically in the morning shift, that if they get their prep work done, they can have a break. But if they do not finish their prep work by the right time, then the employees can work nine or 10 hours without a break or food, he added.

The Havertown Chipotle’s Service Manager Stefany Matthews, said breaks depend on how many hours an employee works, but that if they come in at 7 a.m., they receive a 30-minute break beginning at 10:15 a.m., and work until 4 p.m.

“Today was a no break, no food day,” Kennedy said after he got off work Sunday afternoon. “I clocked in at 7 a.m., was scheduled to work till 3 p.m., but I left at 4.”

Kennedy said this is not uncommon and that on average, employees stay 30 minutes to an hour over their scheduled shift time. Kennedy said employees are also often encouraged to work when they are not clocked in. Just Sunday morning, Kennedy said, one of his co-workers came in early to help before opening, but did not clock in early.

“I told him he needed to be paid for when he was working, because it is illegal for him to work for free,” Kennedy said.

However, his manager did not say anything to his co-worker and essentially “turned a blind eye” to the situation, Kennedy said.

“When you’re at work you should be paid, and when given hours, you should work those hours,” Kennedy said. “If anyone is working off the clock that needs to stop.”

Kennedy said the employees are often encouraged to do more work both when on and off the clock in order to be considered “top performers,” a term he said corporate designed. The term is used in a way to essentially “manipulate” employees into clocking in early and staying late, he added.

After Kennedy clocked out of work Sunday, he and several other employees were in line to get food when one of the managers encouraged them to go clean up a mess because if they were top performers they certainly would not leave it there, he said.

The managers expect the employees to clean up right after they clock out of a nine hour shift, he said. He understands teamwork since he was in the army, but that this is not teamwork, it’s a labor gimmick, he added.

Kennedy said he isn’t blaming his managers. Instead, he feels bad for the managers who frequently show up late to work, exhausted, because they never have any time off, he said. Kennedy said he applauded many of his managers and co-workers for their positive attitudes, despite the long hours they frequently work.

After Kennedy finished a nine-hour shift, without any break Sunday, he received a call from Chipotle telling him to come back in to work another four hour shift until 9 p.m. That would be 13 hours of work, Kennedy said.

Chris Arnold, Chipotle’s communications director, said via email the claims that have been made are not at all consistent with the company’s policies or the cultures it looks to build in its restaurants. Arnold said anytime these claims are made, corporate conducts a thorough review and takes whatever action is necessary.

“Generally speaking, our restaurant cultures are characterized by a strong sense of teamwork and top performing employees who are empowered to achieve high standards,” Arnold said. “More than anything, we provide unprecedented opportunity for our people with 98 percent of our managers coming from within the ranks of our crew.”

As for the State College Chipotle, Chris Salamanca, a visiting manager from Deptford, New Jersey, said they’ve been trying to fill the manager positions and keep the store up and running while they’re looking for new people to hire.

Healy declined to comment for this article.