Attorney Colin M. Thompson, who is representing William J. Apostol, has requested the U.S. District Court for the NMI “to issue an order commanding the CNMI Department of Labor to grant [his client] permission to seek temporary work.”
In seeking the court’s approval, Thompson said Golden Bird Corp. and five “Does” terminated his client “without excuse or justification” on Aug. 11, 2009.
“In addition to wrongfully terminating [Apostol],” Thompson said, Golden Bird “failed to properly pay [Apostol’s] wages and overtime compensation.”
Thompson added that on Nov. 5, 2009, Apostol filed his complaint in advancing claims under the Fair Labor Standard Act and commonwealth law.
“[Apostol] is entitled to an order commanding the CNMI Department of Labor to grant [Apostol’s] permission to seek temporary work pending resolution of [the] case,” Thompson said.
He said Apostol has a class 706K nonresident worker permit, and because of the pending case in federal court, “[Apostol] is entitled to the relief permitted under [the Northern Mariana Islands Administrative Code].”
Apostol sued his former employer Golden Bird for breach of contract.
In Oct. 1999, Apostol started working at Golden Bird as a building maintenance repairer.
Apostol said he was required to perform multiple tasks such as carpentry, masonry and painting.
He also operated and maintained the corporation’s generator and worked as a security guard, his complaint stated.
Golden Bird failed “to pay [Apostol’s] overtime compensation in the amount of one and one-half times his regular pay rate for all of the hours worked by [Apostol] in excess of 40 hours in each work week,” his complaint stated.
