Typhoon Discrimination Suit Blows Out

State labor regulators have reached a $100,000 settlement with defunct restaurant chain Typhoon Inc. and owner Bongoj "Bo" Kline, resolving charges that they discriminated against Thai chefs based on national origin.

Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad AvakianBureau of Labor and Industries postponed formally announcing the deal while it received payment from Typhoon's insurer, First Mercury Insurance, and developed a process for handling claims, Bob Estabrook, a spokesman, said.

The settlement amount is far from the more than $2 million in damages that Avakian's bureau indicated it would seek in December when it formally charged the chain following its eight-month investigation.

But Estabrook noted the once-popular chain closed in February and faces large claims from many other creditors. It once operated Typhoon restaurants, Catering by Bo, Bo Restobar and Bo Asian Foods Co. in Portland, Bend, Gresham, West Linn, Beaverton and at Microsoft offices in Redmond, Wash.

"It's clear that Typhoon will not be able to satisfy all its debts, and I'm not going to take chances with the well-being of Oregon families at stake," Avakian said in a written statement. "This settlement means workers who were treated unfairly will see relief immediately, and that peace of mind is something that they had not felt until BOLI got involved."

Clarence Belnavis, an attorney representing Typhoon, declined to comment.

Typhoon and Kline still face a lawsuit from two former chefs, Suchart "Maha" Treemeth and Nualjira "Nuan" Treemeth. They seek at least $4.9 million in damages and lost earnings, alleging violations of state and federal laws prohibiting forced labor and involuntary servitude, discrimination and unpaid work.

Attorneys for the chefs successfully won the right to pursue assets of the estate of Bo Kline's late husband, Steve, who died last year.

According to pleadings filed in Steve Kline's probate case, Typhoon and Bo Kline owe at least $2 million in unpaid employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service and Oregon Employment Department. Typhoon vendors also have claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills, court documents show.

The state Labor Bureau will place the $100,000 in a settlement trust fund for claims filed by former Typhoon chefs. It's unclear how many claims the state will get, Estabrook said, though the bureau originally estimated at least 12 chefs were victims. The fund will exist for at least a year, the agreement says.

"It's certainly going to be a challenge" to contact former chefs, Estabrook said. "In the Thai community, Bo Kline is still a very popular figure. We've heard there's some hesitance to take Bo's money."

Avakian triggered his department's investigation nearly two years ago by invoking a power rarely used by a state labor commissioner and filing his own complaint against Typhoon.

The bureau concluded that Typhoon and the Klines subjected the Treemeths and other Thai national cooks who held special, but restrictive, E-2 work visas to unlawful employment discrimination.

The Tigard-based company used its leverage over those visas to pay the chefs less, work them longer and subject them to less favorable contract terms and working conditions than their non-Thai peers, the Labor Bureau said. Typhoon and the Klines denied the charges.

The agreement requires Kline and Typhoon to conduct anti-discrimination training for employees if Typhoon restarts as a business.

Brent Hunsberger: 503-221-8359; [email protected]