Chief Judge Alex Munson also ordered the trustees to “run another advertisement in the local newspapers, soliciting additional requests for funding from charitable organizations.”
Earlier, trust fund chairman Timothy Bellas filed a motion in federal court, requesting authority for the disbursement of funds, including a one-time charitable donation of $350 each for 215 former garment workers, as well as repatriation and medical assistance.
On Friday, Munson issued a two-page order granting the motion, including disbursement and accounting of the fund which, according to Bellas, amounts to $722,873.18.
Munson approved the expenses for repatriation assistance requested by 63 persons that included one-way tickets and $100 each.
The court also ordered payment for expenditures of $723 to repatriate a former garment worker to the Philippines as well as $597 to repatriate another worker to China.
The court set a $10,000 cap for requests for medical bills assistance.
“The trustees may continue to fund the repatriation expenses of former garment workers until the final order of this court ordering the distribution of the balance of the funds to charitable organizations,” Munson said.
