Former Panda Express Employee Allegedly Forced to Strip During 'Cult-Like' Trust-Building Exercise

Ryan General
·2 min read

A former employee of a Panda Express branch in Southern California's Santa Clarita Valley has claimed in a lawsuit that she was pressured to strip down to her underwear in front of a crowd during a "trust-building" exercise for the company. Cult-like rituals: Plaintiff Jennifer Spargifiore, 23, was allegedly subjected to “cult-like rituals” during an off-site seminar in July 2019.

  • Spargifiore's lawsuit, which was filed last month, named both Panda Express and Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy -- the consulting company that led the exercise -- as defendants.

  • The lawsuit states that Spargifiore was a victim of sexual battery, a hostile work environment and infliction of emotional distress.

  • An amount for damages was not specified.

Prerequisite to promotion: Spargifiore, who worked primarily for Panda Express Santa Clarita from Aug. 10, 2016, to July 15, 2019, explained that the seminars by Alive Seminars were often "a prerequisite to promotion."

  • On July 13, 2019, Spargifiore was allegedly pressured into an “exercise" in which she was forced to strip down to her underwear under the guise of "trust-building."

  • Spargifiore reportedly "stripped almost naked in front of strangers and co-workers – was extremely uncomfortable but pressed on because she knew it was her only chance at a promotion."

  • During the incident, someone filmed her using a cell phone while “Alive Seminars staff were openly ogling the women in their state of undress, smiling, and laughing."

  • Spargifiore and a male employee, who also stripped down to his underwear, were forced to "hug it out" in front of their colleagues.

  • Spargifiore's lawsuit states that she left the seminar early and "was constructively terminated from her position with Panda Express in July 2019."

Panda responds: In a statement on Wednesday, Panda Restaurant Group, the California-based parent company of Panda Express, said that it is conducting its own investigation about the allegations, according to NBC.

  • "We do not condone the kind of behavior described in the lawsuit, and it is deeply concerning to us. We are committed to providing a safe environment for all associates and stand behind our core values to treat each person with respect.”

  • Distancing itself from co-defendant Alive Seminars, Panda Restaurant Group referred to it as a "third-party organization in which Panda has no ownership interest and over which it exercises no control."

  • Alive Seminars said in an emailed statement to the OC Register that its "training sessions are presented with respect and dignity."

Feature Image via Wikimedia Commons/Miosotis Jade (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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