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

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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