LIHUE — Chinese fast food giant Panda Express, Inc. has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed last year by three former employees who worked at the restaurant chain’s Kapaa franchise. The initial complaint, filed in
LIHUE — Chinese fast food giant Panda Express, Inc. has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed last year by three former employees who worked at the restaurant chain’s Kapaa franchise.
The initial complaint, filed in September by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Shaleah Rodero-Workman and two other women against Panda Express parent company Panda Restaurant Group, alleged the three employees were harassed by a former male kitchen supervisor between 2007 and 2009.
The women, who were 17- to 19-years-old at the time, were subjected to “unwelcome physical and verbal sexual conduct that was sufficiently severe and pervasive to adversely affect the terms and conditions of their employment and create a hostile work environment,” according to the complaint.
In all, the complaint states the women allegedly reported the behavior over 12 times to senior restaurant officials in Hawaii and later resigned after receiving reduced hours and “less favorable working conditions” that included obscene verbal harassment and repeated sexual advances.
Rodero-Workman said she decided to pursue the lawsuit and share her story to reach out to others.
“I want to see it more open to anybody in any work environment, because any young female or male shouldn’t be scared to come out and say anything because there are people out there who can help you,” Rodero-Workman said.
Two of the women named in the complaint requested that their names not be made public.
Panda Restaurant Group spokeswoman Thien Ho said the supervisor named in the complaint was terminated around the same time the formal complaint was filed.
Amrita Mallik, an EEOC senior trial attorney, said the settlement money will be distributed among the three women who lodged the complaint but declined to say how much each person will receive.
As a part of a formal consent decree signed on May 28, the company must conduct annual training on Equal Employment Opportunity laws, policies and reporting procedures for sex-based discrimination, harassment and retaliation for all state general managers.
The company, according to the decree, must also require their general managers in Hawaii to provide informal briefings on reporting procedures and policies to their employees, including those at the Kapaa franchise, within four months.
“I think it is to their credit that they decided to implement these measures and I would encourage all employers to take these complaints very seriously,” Mallik said. “Even if it’s just an employee coming forward in the workplace, do your best to resolve it, work with them and put in the proper safeguards like training and outreach to make sure know their rights and protections. That’s the only way to make sure that this doesn’t happen again and become a bigger problem.”
The decree also stated the settlement “shall not be construed as an admission by the Defendants of any discriminatory, harassing, or retaliatory conduct.”
Ho said in an email following the settlement that the company is committed “to provide a safe and empowering environment for all our associates to grow and prosper.
“In today’s settlement with the EEOC, we reconfirm our shared mission with the EEOC to ensure that our associates continue to be protected and cared for,” Ho said. “We appreciate the partnership of all those involved in this isolated incident to find resolution with dignity and common value in mind.”
• Darin Moriki, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-3681 or dmoriki@thegardenisland.com.
