The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Chipotle Mexican Grill agreed on Tuesday to pay a $25 million fine and enter a deferred prosecution agreement to resolve foodborne related illness outbreak charges.

“This case highlights why it is important for restaurants and members of the food services industry to ensure that managers and employees consistently follow food safety policies,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the DOJ’s Civil Division.

“Chipotle failed to ensure that its employees both understood and complied with its food safety protocols, resulting in hundreds of customers across the country getting sick,” said US Attorney Nick Hanna for the Central District of California.

As part of the agreement, the food giant will be required to implement a comprehensive food safety compliance program. The fine will be the largest ever related to food-safety.

Chipotle was implicated in five foodborne illness outbreaks between 2015 and 2018, primarily from store-related failures to follow company food safety protocols. One such policy requires employees who were sick or recently had been sick to stay at home.

In December 2015 a norovirus outbreak at Chipotle in Boston left 141 people sick. According to the agreement, that outbreak was likely caused by a sick apprentice manager who was ordered to remain working, even after vomiting in the restaurant. That same employee helped cater a Boston College basketball team order two days later. The team’s members were among those who had fallen ill by the outbreak. This was one of many outbreaks cited in the agreement.

“Today’s steep penalty, coupled with the tens of millions of dollars Chipotle already has spent to upgrade its food safety program since 2015, should result in greater protections for Chipotle customers and remind others in the industry to review and improve their own health and safety practices,” said Hanna.