THE Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor has banned Imperial Pacific International LLC from hiring H-2B workers for five years.
The construction of the IPI hotel-casino in Garapan has yet to be completed.
In a letter dated Oct. 23, 2020, the USDOL-WHD notified IPI that it had not paid back wages and civil money and had failed to comply with one or more sanctions and remedies imposed for violations of H-2B obligations.
USDOL-WHD also notified IPI that it had the right to request a hearing.
In a Dec. 8, 2020 letter to IPI chief executive officer Donald Browne, USDOL-WHD assistant district director Patrick Candoleta stated that IPI failed to timely respond to the Oct. 23 notice of debarment issued by the department.
Because of this failure on the part of IPI, the USDOL-WHD notice of debarment became a final and unappealable order by the USDOL secretary.
Candoleta said IPI is debarred from receiving H-2B labor certifications for a period of five years from Nov. 22, 2020.
“IPI will also be disqualified from filing any other labor certification applications or labor condition applications with the USDOL for the same period of time,” he added.
According to Candoleta, “The fact that the sanctions/remedies are being imposed for the H-2B violations found at this time does not preclude the taking of other enforcement action as is deemed appropriate by the department, including the additional assessments of back wages or civil money penalties for additional violations of the H-2B provisions found at some future time.”
On July 24, 2020, the USDOL-WHD notified IPI of its violations of section 218 of the Immigration Nationality Act and other related federal regulations.
As a consequence of the violations, USDOL-WHD assessed a civil money penalty in the amount of $196,632.28 and notified IPI that it owed $299,612.41 in back wages to 1,135 workers and had paid $262,490.56 of the back wages.
It added that IPI continues to owe $37,121.85 in back wages.
Variety was unable to get a comment from IPI.
