KCRW Investigates
Burned: Getting away with it
Maria Vazquez worked as everything from cook to accountant at her long-time fast food job on Crenshaw. Single and a mother to six, she worked long days without overtime pay. For over eight years, Vazquez endured, even in the face of continual sexual assault.
By Karen Foshay • • 7m ListenMaria Vazquez's former boss was ordered to pay her close to $1.5 million for almost a decade of sexual assault and back pay, but it's likely she will never see a dime. Until recently, corporate shell games allowed business owners to evade payments to former employees with a simple change of business name, owner name or assets. In part four of Burned: Abuse in LA's Restaurant Industry, KCRW's Karen Foshay reports on how advocates, lawyers and the labor commissioner are trying to stop the shell games.
Audio production for this series by Myke Dodge Weiskopf.
The series is supported by a grant from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.
Photo: Maria Vazquez alleged she was continually raped by her boss. (Karen Foshay)