Lawsuit alleges Panda Express had trainees abused during 'cult-like' training session

A lawsuit filed by a woman who was part of a Panda Express training session has alleged that trainees were abused during a training session, Pasadena Star-News reports.

The plaintiff is also suing Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy, which she says were involved in the alleged training session, which has been described as "cult-like."

The 23-year-old plaintiff claims that employees were told that they would have a better chance of receiving a promotion if they attended the training session at a warehouse. "Eager to improve her skills and advance within the company, plaintiff signed up and paid out of pocket to attend a four-day program," the lawsuit says. "Panda Express pushed its employees in the Los Angeles region to complete Alive Seminars training. In many cases, it was a prerequisite to promotion."

According to attorney Oscar Ramirez, up to 50 employees were present in the warehouse during the training session, during which the windows to the building were blocked, cellphones were prohibited, and no clock was present in the room.

The lawsuit also alleged that the employees were verbally abused. According to court documents, trainees were told to sit alone in a room for an hour until a man came in and admonished them for doing nothing. The man allegedly told them that they were "nothing" and that they "don't matter."

"The atmosphere resembled less a self-improvement seminar than a site for off the-books interrogation of terrorist suspects," the lawsuit states. "The sensory isolation and intimidation was reinforced by constant yelling and verbal abuse by seminar staff, creating an atmosphere of fear in the room.

"Nevertheless, most attendees, including plaintiff, felt that they had no choice but to remain because they were sent to the seminar by Panda Express and told that their opportunity for promotion would depend on completion of the seminar."

The lawsuit further claims that the training session took a turn for the worst after that.

Under the guise of a trust-building exercise, trainees were told to strip into their underwear in front of other trainees, according to the suit, after which they were told to scream about their personal problems until other employees believed them.

After one male employee broke down crying during the session, trainees were allegedly instructed to hug the man. They were all still wearing nothing but underwear.

The plaintiff says that she left after faking a family emergency.

Panda Express has denied any direct connection to the training session.

"Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy is a third-party organization in which Panda has no ownership interest and over which it exercises no control," the company said in a statement. "While we always encourage personal growth and development, Panda Restaurant Group has not and does not mandate that any associate participate in Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy nor is it a requirement to earn promotions.

"We do not condone the kind of behavior (the plaintiff) has alleged took place at Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy, and we would not intentionally allow it to occur within or on behalf of our organization."

The company did not directly deny the alleged content of the training session.