A Panda Express restaurant in West San Jose is being sued by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an agency of the federal government, for racial discrimination.

According to the court documents in the employment lawsuit, the general manager of the San Diego store made Hispanic workers clean toilets and do other menial tasks, while Asian workers stood and watched, and ultimately received easier work. The Hispanic workers were also allegedly given fewer hours. In addition, the commission claims that the manager disciplined Hispanic employees more frequently and with greater severity.

One Hispanic worker said in a statement that she felt ashamed to be cleaning the bathrooms, tables and counters while the Asian workers watched her. She also felt that the manager treated her unfairly and like she was worthless.

The spokesman for Panda Express said that company policy is to not comment on pending litigation. The Chinese food restaurant's parent company employs 18,000 workers at 1,200 locations in California and across the U.S.

The federal agency said that discrimination toward employees based on ethnicity is a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California and demands monetary damages for the employees and anti-discrimination training in all Panda Express franchises.

In September of last year, a former employee sued the same Panda Express location after she was allegedly fired in retaliation for making a sexual harassment complaint against a superior. Last April, the company paid the employee $25,000 in a settlement and re-hired her, but no wrongdoing was admitted.

Source: Mercury News, "Feds: San Jose Panda Express made Hispanic employees clean toilets while Asian workers watched," Mike Rosenberg, August 18, 2011