Bright Kim’s trial is scheduled for January 14 and 15 at 9 am in Ngerulmud.
Kim is facing charges of unlawful termination of an employee, excessive recovery of work permit and medical fees from an employee, failure to permit non-resident worker one day off per week and unlawful recovery of foreign investment board non-resident worker fee from an employee for illegally terminating the employment contract of his employee last year.
The employee filed a suit against him and the court awarded the employee damages following findings of fact under a preponderance of evidence that from June 2008 to June 2009 Kim deducted $33 per month for permit fees and $41 per month for FIB non-resident worker fee.
The document filed in court stated that Kim unlawfully withholds more than the maximum 50percent of work permit and medical fees from the employee sometime in June.
The document further stated that Kim did not permit the employee the one day off per week to which she was entitled and the businessman did unlawfully recover FIB non-resident worker fee from her.
The affidavit of probable cause filed in court stated that the employee was brought to Palau by Kim to work as waitress in his restaurant.
The employee was terminated on June 8, 2009 when she protested these illegal excessive fees. She filed a civil action against Kim and was represented by Susan Kenney Pfalzer of the Micronesian Legal Services.
The employee also filed a claim at the Labor Division.
The court ruled that the unlawful excessive withholding of fees are also criminal violations of the Labor code.
The matter was forwarded to the Bureau of Public Safety for criminal disposition and Kim was charged later.
