The main Panda Express lawsuit settlement open right now is a $2.45 million class action resolving a March 2024 data breach that exposed personal information for roughly 240,000 current and former employees. Claims must be filed by April 10, 2026, and the court is set to consider final approval on April 20, 2026. Earlier settlements over hidden delivery fees, wage violations, and discrimination have already closed, and a separate state enforcement action in late 2025 required the chain to pay about $1.06 million over hazardous materials training.
The 2024 Data Breach Settlement
Panda Restaurant Group detected suspicious activity on its corporate systems on March 10, 2024. An investigation found that an unauthorized party had access between March 7 and March 11, 2024.1BleepingComputer. Panda Restaurants Discloses a Data Breach After Corporate Systems Hack In-store systems and restaurant operations were not affected. The exposed data belonged to current and former employees, and included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and financial account details.2ClassAction.org. Panda Express Data Breach Lawsuit Filed After Employee Info Exposed in Cyberattack Notification letters went out at the end of April 2024.
A proposed class action, Halliday et al. v. Panda Restaurant Group, Inc., Case No. 24STCV12667, was filed in California state court on May 16, 2024.3ClassAction.org. $2.45M Panda Restaurant Group Settlement Ends Class Action Over March 2024 Data Breach On February 11, 2026, Panda agreed to pay $2.45 million to resolve the case while denying the allegations. The court granted preliminary approval on January 6, 2026, and set a final approval hearing for April 20, 2026.
Who Qualifies
You are a class member if you received a data breach notification letter from Panda Restaurant Group about the March 2024 incident. The notice contains a unique ID and PIN you will need to file.
What You Can Claim
- Reimbursement of up to $5,000 for documented out-of-pocket losses tied to the breach, supported by receipts, invoices, or bank statements.
- A cash payment of approximately $100 with no documentation required. The final amount may be adjusted based on how many people file.
- An additional payment of up to $125 for class members who lived in California at the time of the breach.
- Two years of three-bureau credit monitoring with dark web scanning, identity theft insurance, and fraud resolution services.4ClaimDepot. Halliday et al. v. Panda Restaurant Group Inc. Settlement
How and When to File
Claims can be submitted online at PRGBreachSettlement.com or mailed in. Either way, they must be submitted or postmarked by April 10, 2026. The settlement administrator can be reached at 1-866-302-7373.5PRG Breach Settlement. PRG Breach Settlement Official Site Class counsel has asked for up to $816,666.67 in attorneys’ fees plus up to $30,000 in expenses, to be ruled on at the final approval hearing.6PRG Breach Settlement. Halliday et al. v. Panda Restaurant Group Inc. Settlement Notice
Hidden Delivery Fee Settlement (Closed)
A customer named Natasha Scott filed a class action in July 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Case No. 2:21-cv-05368.7ClassAction.org. Scott v. Panda Restaurant Group Inc. Complaint The complaint alleged that Panda Express advertised a flat $2.95 delivery fee on its app and website while adding a separate service fee of roughly 10% of the food total. That service fee applied only to delivery orders, which the plaintiff argued made it a disguised second delivery charge.
Panda Express agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve the case, while denying wrongdoing. Delivery customers who ordered through the app or website between July 17, 2020, and February 16, 2022, and were charged a service fee could file a claim. The filing window closed on January 10, 2024, so this settlement is no longer open to new claims.8Fast Company. Panda Express Lawsuit Settlement Delivery Order Fee
$1.06 Million Hazardous Materials Judgment
In November 2025, the Riverside County District Attorney’s office resolved an enforcement action against Panda Express alleging that the chain failed to train restaurant employees on the safe handling of carbon dioxide gas used in carbonated beverage systems at more than 500 California locations. Prosecutors also alleged that Panda submitted incomplete or inaccurate reports about employee training to local regulators.9Riverside County District Attorney. Panda Express Violations
A stipulated judgment filed on November 20, 2025, required the company to pay roughly $1.06 million: $881,925 in civil penalties, $100,000 for supplemental environmental projects, and $75,000 in cost reimbursement.10Los Angeles Times. Panda Express Pays Fine for Failing to Train Employees on Handling Hazardous Materials Of the total, $273,980 was earmarked for Riverside County entities, including $25,000 to the FIND Food Bank in the Coachella Valley.11The Desert Sun. Panda Express Lawsuit Settlement FIND Food Bank The settlement also requires Panda to comply with Chapter 6.95 of the California Health and Safety Code at all California locations for five years. This was a government enforcement action, not a class action, so there is no claim for the public to file.
Employment and Wage Settlements
NYC Fair Workweek Settlement
In August 2023, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announced that Panda Express would pay $3.15 million in restitution to more than 1,400 workers, plus $300,000 in civil penalties, over Fair Workweek Law violations.12NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. DCWP Settles With Three Major Restaurant Chains for Fair Workweek Violations The city found that Panda failed to pay premiums when it changed workers’ schedules, failed to provide schedules 14 days in advance, failed to offer existing staff additional hours before hiring new employees, and failed to get consent before assigning “clopening” shifts. The agency also found more than $8,000 owed in back pay to a worker fired in retaliation for exercising rights under the law.13Restaurant Dive. Panda Express, Au Bon Pain, 7-Eleven NYC Fair Workweek Settlement
DOJ Immigration-Related Discrimination Settlement
In June 2017, the Department of Justice announced a $600,000 settlement with Panda Express over allegations that the company required immigrant employees to present more documents than legally necessary to prove work eligibility and improperly demanded reverification. The payment included $400,000 in civil penalties and a $200,000 back pay fund.14Bloomberg Law. Panda Express Serves Up $600,000 to Settle Immigrant Bias Claims
EEOC National Origin Case
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Panda Express in August 2011 in the Northern District of California, alleging that a general manager at a San Jose location gave Hispanic workers less desirable duties, fewer hours, and harsher discipline than Asian employees for similar infractions.15EEOC. Panda Express Sued by EEOC for National Origin Bias The case resolved in 2013 with a $150,000 payment.16Good Jobs First Violation Tracker. Panda Restaurant Group Violation Tracker
Manager Overtime Class Action
A 2009 nationwide class action filed by former general manager Khan Kudo in federal court in White Plains, New York, alleged that Panda Express misclassified general managers as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the complaint, managers spent roughly 80% of their time on non-managerial tasks like food preparation, inventory, and cleaning. A class of 155 current and former managers settled the case for $2,975,000.16Good Jobs First Violation Tracker. Panda Restaurant Group Violation Tracker
Why Most Customer Disputes Don’t Become Class Actions
Panda Restaurant Group’s customer Terms and Conditions, last updated in June 2022, include a mandatory arbitration clause governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. Users agree to resolve disputes individually, and the terms contain a class action waiver and a jury trial waiver. Small claims under $10,000 are exempt, and some California-specific provisions limit the scope of the waivers.17Panda Express. Terms and Conditions for Services In practice, that means most customer-side disputes against Panda Express have to go through individual arbitration rather than a class lawsuit, which is one reason the open settlement in 2026 involves employee data rather than customer complaints.