THE delays in paying the salaries of Imperial Pacific International’s remaining employees will “complicate matters,” according to Commonwealth Casino Commission Executive Director Andrew Yeom.
In a report to the commission, he said there had been delays in three IPI payrolls since February. IPI’s employees have yet to receive their salaries for Feb. 7 to Feb. 20; Feb. 21 to March 6; and March 7 to March 20 pay periods, Yeom added.
IPI informed its 40 remaining employees earlier in February that due to financial challenges their payroll would be delayed until further notice.
The casino operator which has yet to complete the construction of its casino-hotel in Garapan, still has 17 security guards, 15 construction workers and eight administrative staffers who continue to report for work.
IPI, whose casino shut down in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, also faces several lawsuits in local and federal courts.
Its failure to pay salaries is also included in the complaints against IPI that Yeom has filed with the casino commission.
“These recent payroll issues will only complicate matters,” he said.
Non-remittance
Yeom also informed the commissioners about a complaint from IPI former employees that the casino operator has not remitted the employees and employers’ Social Security contributions for more than a year.
“We found this to be a very concerning matter if…true [and it] warranted our investigation. Shortly thereof, we contacted IPI to inquire about the validity of this claim. We were informed by their Human Resource Director that the claim is true and mostly correct and that they have referred the matter to their legal [team] and a newly formed task force…for their due diligence,” Yeom said.
He added that IPI has asked for time “for their due diligence as well as to seek remedial solutions.”
On March 3, 2022, after further discussions, Yeom said, “We finally gathered information from [IPI’s] finance director showing the total aggregate amount owed to Social Security, number of employees, and the years being affected. In short, IPI’s non-remittance of the Social Security withholding involves more than 1,000 employees for 2020 and 2021 for an amount to be disclosed in my complaint soon. “
On March 14, 2022, after an investigation, Yeom said, “We have formally forwarded this case to Revenue & Taxation for their end of the official actions since this matter is a violation of tax law whether it be related to local or federal.”
As far as the commission is concerned, he added, “we are in the process of, and soon, we will be filing possibly two more enforcement actions against IPI relating to tax law violations, which translate to major violations of our casino regulation.”
Commonwealth Casino Commission Executive Director Andrew Yeom gestures during a House Gaming Committee meeting in the House chamber last year.
