Who owns Panda Express? Ex-employee claims she was 'forced to strip down to underwear' in 'cult-like' training
Panda Express, the American fast-food restaurant, is in hot water and is being sued by a woman who has accused them of "sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and a hostile work environment," according to reports. The woman revealed that she was "forced" to "strip down to her underwear" while she was in what she called "cult-like" training.
This training included a four-day seminar — conducted by Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy in Pico Rivera, California — that was a "pre requisite" for this woman to "earn" her promotion. She is yet to be identified.
The information about the woman, as of now, is that she used to work in one of the fast food chain restaurants in Santa Clarita, California. The Daily Mail reported that the lawsuit against Panda Restaurant Group was filed at the LA County Superior Court back in February. The woman aka the plaintiff is "seeking unspecified damages."
READ MORE
What are the accusations against Panda Express?
According to reports, the woman said that on July 13, 2019 — three years after she had first begun working for Panda Express — she was forced to strip to her underwear in front of other participants and employees who were "ogling" her. The participants involved in the seminar were told to "to stand and yell about inner struggles".
The victim also revealed that she was asked to hug a male participant while in their underwear after he had cried during the exercise. The publication also reveals that "at least one Alive Seminars staff member" allegedly is being accused of recording her with a cellphone, after she had stripped.
Furthermore, it was reported that the participants were also forced to be part of a "ceremony" that "removed negative energy" and they were not allowed to use the bathroom if members of the staff were not close by, according to LA Daily News. In fact, one participant also ended up puking as the lawsuit states, "When another participant ran into the restroom to throw up, Alive Seminars staff ran after her."
"Another male participant was only given a small trash can to throw up in and was forced to do it in front of all the other attendees." The start of the seminar also saw the participants "forced" to sit in silence for one hour and were yelled at in Spanish by a man because they were doing nothing.
The Daily Mail reported that the Alive Seminars employee in question was described as "nasty drill sergeant" in the filed lawsuit and that he "contributed" to an "atmosphere of fear." The woman also revealed that she suffered "emotional distress" and ended up saying that she had a family emergency to leave the seminar. She later quit her job.
Pasadena Star News reported that attorney Oscar Ramirez said, "We are looking forward to presenting this case to a jury so that a clear message can be sent to Panda Express — which owns and operates over 2,000 restaurants — that it must put to an end to its practice of requiring its employees to undergo horrific psychological abuse and harassment to be promoted."
Panda Express responds
While they were put on the spot, Panda Express reportedly said, "Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy is a third-party organization in which Panda has no ownership interest and over which it exercises no control."
They added, "While we always encourage personal growth and development, Panda Restaurant Group has not and does not mandate that any associate participates in Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy nor is it a requirement to earn promotions. We are committed to providing a safe environment for all associates and stand behind our core values to treat each person with respect. As an active legal matter, we are unable to comment further."
The Daily Mail revealed that Alive Seminars used "integrity" and "respect" to describe their training sessions.
There's a history
This isn't the first time. Back in 2013, the restaurant chain settled a case with $150,000 to three female teens who had allegedly been sexually assaulted between the years 2007 and 2009. According to EEOC, they were working at a restaurant in Hawaii.
Who owns Panda Express?
The co-CEOs of Panda Restaurant Group, the company behind the scenes of Panda Express, are married couple Andrew and Peggy Cherng. An article from Buisness Insider revealed that the duo, who are college sweethearts, grew the restaurant chain after they first opened in a mall in the south of California.
The company was founded back in the 1980s earning the couple a whopping net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes. According to Business Insider, the co-CEOs don't franchise the Panda Express locations to other owners, but rather "own and operate" each of the locations themselves. Interestingly enough, they also own Ippudo, a Japanese Ramen Noodle Brasserie in two locations — NYC and Berkeley, California.
Andrew Cherng
Andrew Cherng, born in Yangzhou, China had a father who was a chef, but it was only after he had come to the United States to study math, and get a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Baker University and a master's degree in applied mathematics from the University of Missouri, did he get into the restaurant industry.
He met Peggy when they were both studying at Baker University in Kansas. In the year 1973, he opened Panda Inn, in Pasadena, California where his father was the chef. Later in 1983, Peggy joined her husband in the restaurant industry, and they opened the first Panda Express in a mall located in Glendale, California.
Peggy Cherng
Peggy was born in Myanmar, and later immigrated to the US when she started college. Before she had joined Panda Restaurant Group, she was a leading member of the software development team for organizations such as McDonnell Douglas and Comtal-3M as per Panda Restaurant Group.
She too earned a Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics from Oregon State University, a Master of Science in computer science, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri.
According to Business Insider, Peggy "pioneered the use of technology for tasks like tracking inventory and re-ordering ingredients, a practice other American Chinese restaurants had not yet adopted." In a decade, the chain expanded to 97 restaurants and reportedly sold 90 million pounds of its most loved dish, orange chicken in the year 2018.
Another fun fact is that they also bought 22 million pounds of broccoli the previous year. Most recently, in 2019, the couple is No. 838 on Forbes' Billionaires List of the richest people in the world. The couple has been inducted into the National Restaurant Association’s Hall of Fame and named Carnegie Corporation’s Great Immigrants.
It's a family buisness
The couple has three children, two — Andrea Cherng and Nicole Cherng — of whom work for Panda Restaurant Group, Panda Express's corporate parent. Andrea is the Chief Brand Officer and Nicole is the manager of catering and special events.
According to Panda Restaurant Group, Andrea earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and Asian American studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She also has a law degree with honor from the prestigious Duke University School of Law and a Master of Business Administration concentrating in marketing and strategic management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.