Ladera had until Nov. 27, 2009 to pay its former “dorm manager” Yang Kyu Shin, a.k.a. Brendon, $5,394.21 in unpaid wages, both regular and overtime, and improperly withheld tax.
“A failure to timely pay the amount awarded…shall cause [Labor] to invoke a denial of any now pending or later submitted employment applications by [ILC Corp.] for employment of foreign national workers in the commonwealth,” stated Hearing Officer Herbert D. Soll in his five-page administrative order, dated Nov. 6, 2009.
Ladera has not replied to this reporter’s request for comment.
“I need my money for food, water to survive,” Brendon said in an interview with the Variety.
He left LISS in March after failing to receive his salary for two months. After terminating his employment, he sued its owners.
Brendon said he has been jobless the past nine months.
“It’s hard to live and very hard to get a job on Saipan because of the economy. I thank my friends and other people for helping me,” he added.
Brendon said he arrived on Saipan as a tourist in Jan. 2008 and was retained by Ladera as its “volunteer” for 11 months.
He was eventually hired as a contract worker on Dec. 11, 2008.
Brendon said he did not receive any days off and that he was on call 24 hours a day as their “dorm manager.”
Brendon said he checked with the Division of Taxation and Revenue and found that the tax withheld from him was never paid by LISS.
Labor granted Brendon’s request for transfer relief but told him that “employment in a school or in any way supervising school age children shall not be permitted.”
According to Soll, “The admitted false work certification submitted by [LISS to Labor during hearings] indicates that the complainant is not sufficiently experienced or trained to perform such work.”
LISS presented to Labor two documents purportedly submitted by Brendon as pre-employment requirements: a medical certificate and a certificate of career.
Brendon said he never submitted those documents.
Labor said Brendon “was not an ideal employee…. In general, his performance was frequently flawed.”
“The fact that [Brendon] had little or no experience as a dorm manager, as was known by [him], may account for his difficulty in adjusting to his responsibilities,” Labor said.
“The lack of clear direction by [LISS] is also a contributing factor to [Brendon’s] wanting performance,” Labor added.
