A man is suing the Thai Community Development Center, alleging the Hollywood nonprofit did not pay him for all hours worked and misclassified him as a salaried employee.
Kevin Vazquez’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include whistleblower retaliation, public disclosure of private facts, intentional infliction of emotional distress and various state Labor Code violations. Vazquez seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Founded in 1994, the Thai Center works to advance the social and economic well-being of low and moderate income Thai and other immigrants in the greater Los Angeles area through affordable housing, advocacy and social services. A Thai Center representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Feb. 11.
Vazquez was hired in April 2022 as a farmers market manager at an annual salary of $70,000 while working nine hours daily on weekdays. His duties included market operations management, vendor recruitment and relations, administrative tasks such as protocol review and grant research. His job also involved physical labor, including market setup and street cleaning.
Despite being a manager, Vazquez could not hire or fire people and was excluded from interview processes for staff who worked with him, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff had a good work record.
Vazquez alleges he was denied rest breaks and did not know he was entitled to them until a colleague told him in September 2025. He alleges that he and other employees were often paid days or weeks late and that the Thai Center’s executive director violated his privacy by telling colleagues he was undergoing colon cancer screening.
The Thai Center’s executive director admitted that the organization had financial problems and had government contract reimbursements of more than $2.3 million and told workers to resign if they could not tolerate the late payments, the suit states. Vazquez filed a written grievance documenting alleged workplace safety problems in December and the alleged hostile workplace environment that existed as a result, the suit states.
Vazquez decided to resign because of the workplace conditions and while gathering his personal paperwork the Thai Center accountant profanely shouted at and intimidated the plaintiff, according to the suit, which additionally states that the plaintiff has suffered lost wages and benefits as well as emotional distress.