Legal Environment of Business

Anthony Kha Le

BA3301: Legal Environment of Business

CRN: 20743

Mr. Thomas Lin

Area Coach Operations

Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.

1683 Walnut Grove Avenue

Rosemead, CA 91770

(281) 773 – 2396

Email: Thomas.Lin@pandarg.com

Compliance Interview and Report

A. Introduction

The person whom I had chosen to interview was Mr. Thomas Lin. He is currently working for Panda Express, one of the three main concepts of Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. The privately-held Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. (PRG) is the largest and fastest growing Asian restaurant company in the nation. The reason why I selected Mr. Thomas Lin and Panda Restaurant Group is because I had worked under his supervision for a year; and I had learned lots of useful information regarding to laws and regulations for fast food industry. In addition, he had instilled in me some of the Panda values which I had found very beneficial in life. As for the company, I had chosen PRG because this is a large company. PRG operates three concepts – Panda Inn, Panda Express and Hibachi-San – totaling over 1300 units, with close to 18000 associates in 38 states and Puerto Rico (www.pandarg.com). With its enormous capacity and big operation throughout the states, it is very important for PRG to comply with different state laws and regulations. Therefore, it is for my interest to find out about their compliance within the restaurant industry.

B. Brief Overview of the Industry

The restaurant industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Over the past 20 years, it has accounted for a larger proportion of food budgets, reflecting, among other reasons, greater spending power and changing lifestyles prompted by increasing participation of women in the labor force and the rise of one-person households. Fast-food businesses, specifically, now constitute more than 40 percent of the Nation’s restaurants (www.bls.gov). On the federal scale, general enforcement...