{"id":19091,"date":"2026-06-30T23:01:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19091"},"modified":"2026-06-30T23:01:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T23:01:56","slug":"99-ranch-market-owner-sued-for-allegedly-firing-non-chinese-managers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19091","title":{"rendered":"99 Ranch Market owner sued for allegedly firing non-Chinese managers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Tawa Supermarket Inc., the parent company of 99 Ranch Market, was sued Tuesday by , which is alleging the Buena Park-based Asian supermarket chain discriminated against its non-Chinese workers.<\/p>\n

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99 Ranch Market is the largest Asian supermarket chain in the United States.<\/p>\n

According to the EEOC lawsuit, Tawa subjected non-Chinese store-level employees to discrimination by failing to promote them because they were not Chinese, paid them less than Chinese workers, and scheduled them for fewer work hours than Chinese counterparts.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a result, some non-Chinese workers felt they had no choice but to resign,\u201d the EEOC said.<\/p>\n

A Tawa spokesperson did not return phone calls seeking comment.<\/p>\n

The federal agency said the workplace violations existed since \u201cat least 2016\u201d after the company saw a leadership change, and the grocery store chain allegedly terminated recently hired non-Chinese managers at multiple store locations.<\/p>\n

\u2014 provided to the Southern California News Group by EEOC spokesman Victor Chen \u2014 showed the alleged problems may have begun in 2015, when the vice president of human resources hired non-Chinese managers across various positions. Those jobs included \u201cdistrict managers, store managers and loss prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

No employee names are mentioned in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Then in 2016, Tawa terminated those recently hired, non-Chinese managers based on their national origin, replacing them with Chinese managers, according to the suit. In late 2016, Tawa forced the vice president of human resources (who was not Chinese) to resign, the suit says.<\/p>\n

Another example of alleged discrimination cited in the EEOC complaint occurred when two non-Chinese district managers hired in late 2015 and 2016 were later fired in August and September 2017 after earning \u201csatisfactory work performance\u201d reviews, the suit states.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit also cited loss prevention and safety managers, who like other managers hired in late-2015 and early 2016, were later terminated by Tawa in 2017, allegedly because they were not Chinese.<\/p>\n

National origin discrimination can include a preference for foreign workers, including workers with a particular visa status, over American workers, according to the EEOC.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe EEOC will not hesitate to bring litigation to make clear to employers that cultural preference regarding the composition of their workforce does not insulate them from liability,\u201d Catherine Eschbach, acting general counsel for the EEOC, said in a statement. \u201cThat the employer here is a Chinese supermarket chain does not provide license to terminate non-Chinese managers or otherwise discriminate against non-Chinese workers in employment terms and conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gagan Sandhu, EEOC\u2019s acting assistant regional attorney, declined to discuss details of the case.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit was brought against the chain after the EEOC said it couldn\u2019t reach a pre-litigation settlement through confidential negotiations in order to resolve the dispute out of court, according to the EEOC.<\/p>\n

Taiwanese roots<\/h4>\n

The supermarket chain was founded in 1984 by Roger Chen, a Taiwanese immigrant, who saw a need for an Asian supermarket in the local communities. Roger Chen\u2019s children, Alice Chen, the chief executive officer, and Jonson Chen, the chairman, are now at the helm of the company.<\/p>\n

The company specializes in Chinese and other Asian pantry goods, produce, fish meat and bakery items.<\/p>\n

The chain, which employs between 5,000 and 10,000 employees \u2014 according to the job networking website Linkedin \u2014 dominates the Asian grocery scene in California, with five stores in Orange County (Irvine, Anaheim, Buena Park, Tustin and Aliso Viejo). Tawa lists 25 of its 99 Ranch Market stores across Southern California and 19 in Northern California.<\/p>\n

Tawa Supermarket has at least 66 locations across multiple states, including California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Arizona and Virginia.<\/p>\n

Tawa\u2019s 99 Ranch Market chain isn\u2019t the only Asian supermarket chain in Southern California.<\/p>\n

T&T Supermarket, Canada\u2019s largest Asian grocery store chain, announced plans to expand south to Southern California with a store opening in Irvine in late 2026. It also has plans to open a store in Chino Hills.<\/p>\n

The U.S.-based Korean supermarket chain H Mart and Tokyo Central, which is owned by Japan-based Marukai Corp., are also expanding in the region.<\/p>\n

Read more Hawthorne man remains jailed in 405 Freeway crash that killed LAPD officer and another driver<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The EEOC lawsuit says Tawa Supermarket failed to promote the workers, paid them less and scheduled them less than Chinese counterparts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n99 Ranch Market owner sued for allegedly firing non-Chinese managers - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19091\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"99 Ranch Market owner sued for allegedly firing non-Chinese managers - 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