BECAUSE of issues with flights to China, CWs from that country will likely not be repatriated until July, Imperial Pacific International LLC attorney Michael Dotts told the federal court in his 19th status report.
He said IPI was planning for the repatriation of the CW-1 employees in June 2021.
He added that payroll was distributed on Friday, May 21, without incident except that seven employees have yet to pick up their paychecks.
“IPI’s next payroll is to be distributed on June 4, 2021 (Payroll 12),” Dotts added.
All H-2B workers willing to be repatriated have been repatriated, he said. “As a result, there is nothing new to report on the employee food and housing.”
Dotts also informed the court that “IPI has provided cancelled paychecks to plaintiff’s [the U.S. Department of Labor] field office and plaintiff is reviewing them to verify all employees actually received payment. IPI management and plaintiff’s field office personnel are also discussing the requirements for paid time off and the three-fourths guarantee for CW employees.”
Construction work at the casino-resort site in Garapan remains suspended as ordered by the court, he added.
As for IPI’s next settlement payment, he said it is due on June 1.
He is referring to the modified consent judgment with the U.S. Department of Labor approved by Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona on March 29. It requires IPI to purge contempt and to pay the remaining amounts in the initial consent judgment as well as the unpaid total for work periods 21-26 and 1-3.
IPI was ordered to make incremental monthly payments of $164,270.08 from April 1, 2021 to Dec. 1, 2021 for a total amount of $1,478,430.72.
The total amount IPI owed under the previous consent judgment was $3,360,000.
According to the stipulation of the parties, IPI paid a total of $1,929,425.28 toward the consent judgment from March 2019 to March 2021.
The remaining balance is $1,430,574 plus $47,856 in wages owed for a total amount of $1,478,430.
