Ex-MPLA employee sues DPL, Del Rosario

The former secretary of the board of directors of the defunct Marianas Public Lands Authority has sued the Department of Public Lands and its Secretary, John Del Rosario Jr., over her alleged unlawful termination.

Helen B. Camacho, through counsel Victorino DLG. Torres, sued DPL and Del Rosario for breach of contract.

Camacho asked the Superior Court to order the defendants to pay her special and actual damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs.

When [I]Saipan Tribune[/I] reached him yesterday for comment, Del Rosario said he issued the termination that ended all contracts under the former MPLA, pursuant to the law that created DPL.

Del Rosario questioned why MPLA gave these people, including Camacho, contracts beyond the term of the MPLA board.

“This is the point. You cannot commit something that you don’t have. Three years from now, assuming my boss is defeated, am I supposed to stay on as the secretary of the Department of Public Lands? I don’t think so,” he stressed.

Torres stated in the complaint that Camacho executed an employment contract with MPLA that took effect on Sept. 16, 2004 and should have ended on Dec. 30, 2005.

Torres said that on Oct. 28, 2005, Camacho executed a first amended employment contract with MPLA. The term of this contract commenced Sept. 16, 2004 and was supposed to end on Sept. 15, 2009.

During this period, Torres said, the employer agreed to pay Camacho an annual salary of $45,000 in biweekly payments. Effective July 3, 2005 the annual salary shall increase to $55,000 in biweekly payments, he said.

On Feb. 22, 2006, Public Law 15-2 was approved and signed into law. Pursuant to that law, MPLA was abolished and all of its powers and duties were assigned to the DPL.

Torres said that, despite the clear provision of the first amended contract, Del Rosario sent a notice, terminating Camacho on Sept. 7, 2006, without cause.

Disturbingly, the lawyer alleged, despite the clear provision in the first amended contract that “employer shall pay the employee a lump sum for the period from the effective date of termination to the next annual anniversary date of the contract” Del Rosario stripped that contractual right belonging to Camacho.

Additionally, Torres asserted, the DPL secretary told Camacho to review her “leave balance to ensure that all leave is taken prior to the end of your employment”—in clear violation of the DPL’s personnel manual.

Torres said his client is “contractually entitled to the total amount of the contract in the sum of $54,000 annually from the date she received the notice of termination to the anniversary date of Sept. 15, 2009.”