EEOC Sues Panda Express Restaurant for Allowing Supervisor to Sexually Harass Teenage Employees

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued a Panda Express Restaurant in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 26, 2012 for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to the EEOC, a male supervisor at the Panda Express in Kapaa, Kauai physically and verbally sexually abused at least three female teenage employees.  After the teenagers reported the harassment, Panda Express, through the supervisor, retaliated against them by cutting their hours and subjecting them to further verbal abuse.  The EEOC seeks monetary relief and injunctive relief in the form of policy changes and training.

Anna Y. Park, a regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office, which includes Hawaii, said:

 Here we have a company that failed to stop repeated advances toward teen workers.  None of these young ladies had a chance against those odds.  The EEOC is committed to ensuring that this type of misconduct does not reoccur at this restaurant or elsewhere in the industry.

 The Employment Law Group® law firm has an extensive discrimination practice and has broad experience fighting for the rights of employees who have been victims of discrimination and retaliation by their employers.