THE United States Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division has banned Imperial Pacific International LLC from hiring H-2B for five years.
In a letter dated October 23, 2020, the USDOL-WHD notified IPI that it had not paid the back wages and civil money due and failed to comply with one or more sanctions and remedies imposed for violations of H-2B obligations.
As a consequence of IPI’s failure to comply, USDOL-WHD notified IPI of its intent to debar IPI for a period of five years, and IPI’s right to request a hearing.
USDOL-WHD assistant district director Patrick Candoleta in a following letter to IPI’s chief executive officer Donald Browne dated Dec, 8, 2020, stated that IPI has failed to timely respond to the department’s Oct. 23 notice of debarment.
Because of this, the USDOL-WHD’s notice of debarment became a final and appealable 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 H2-B 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 civl 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 assed 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 has paid $262,490.56 of the back wages.
It added that IPI continues to owe $37,121.85 in back wages.
The debarment of IPI from the H-2B program was noted in a petition recently filed by the USDOL in federal court for an order of contempt against IPI.
The USDOL requested the District Court for the NMI to hold IPI in contempt for violating the previous consent judgment entered on April 11, 2019 and for not paying their employees for over two months.
In its eight-page petition for contempt and for an order for IPI to show cause, the USDOL stated that IPI created another humanitarian crisis in the CNMI.
The USDOL has cited IPI’s executives unlawfully requiring stranded employees to work without pay during a global pandemic, and failing to meet the workers’ basic necessities or provide for their return to their home countries.
THE USDOL wants the court to enforce the April 11, 2019 consent judgment and for the court to issue an order finding IPI, IPI’s Chairperson and Executive Director Cui Li Jie, and IPI CNMI Chief Executive Officer Donald Browne in civil contempt for violating the judgment.
