Employees run half-naked for not meeting sales quotas

Dozens of employees from a food company in southwest China's Sichuan Province ran along the wintry streets of Chengdu in only shorts and T-shirts on Monday because they failed to meet their company's annual sales quotas, local news website scnews.newssc.org reports.

According to the company's rules, male employees had to run only in their shorts, while female workers had more freedom to choose what they would wear as they ran along the streets as a "punishment" for not meeting their sales requirements, said an employee surnamed Chen who led the runners from a car.

Chen said the company has had the rule in place since 2012. Men must run 10 kilometers, and women must run five kilometers.

Most employees said they could handle the punishment and only had to suffer enduring stares from passersby.

One unidentified employee said they all agreed to run if they did not meet their sales requirements, and the punishment would motivate them to do better in the upcoming year.

But one lawyer disagrees. Liao Hua from the Sichuan-based Tahota Law Firm said any policy a company adopts, be it a reward or punishment, should be based on respect for people's rights. So far, however, there had been no lawsuits against enterprises that impose harsh punishments on their employees, he said.

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