Terminated correction worker sues Fitial, CNMI govt

A terminated juvenile correction worker has filed a lawsuit that seeks to compel Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to appoint members of the Civil Service Commission to enable it to fulfill its constitutional duty.

Besides Fitial, Thelma S. Kapileo also named as defendants in the lawsuit Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Melvin Faisao and the CNMI government.

Kapileo filed the lawsuit through counsels Jane Mack and Dimitri Varmazis of the Micronesian Legal Services Corp.

The plaintiff sued the defendants for unlawful suspension and termination, violation of employment contract, and violation of U.S. constitutional due process protections.

Kapileo asked the Superior Court to hold as unlawful and set aside her suspension and termination.

She wants to be reinstated to her job with full back pay for the alleged unlawful suspension from work and payment for damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.

Saipan Tribune tried but failed to obtain comments from the defendants.

Faisao, however, explained DCCA’s decision in a notice of proposed adverse action for Kapileo’s termination. Faisao cited that Kapileo failed to effectively perform her duties and responsibilities as an emergency shelter caretaker.

On at least one occasion, Faisao said, a female detainee was sexually assaulted by Pedro I. Sablan, an emergency shelter caretaker, while on Kapileo’s watch.

“You action have resulted in serious violations of not only the standards of conduct and is clearly a dereliction of duty,” Faisao said.

According to Kapileo’s complaint, the CNMI government filed criminal charges against Sablan on Aug. 12, 2011, alleging four counts of sexual abuse of a minor child

On Sept. 23, 2011, Kapileo and two other women who worked in similar positions at the DYS Emergency Shelter were each given a notification of work suspension. The notice suspended Kapileo and her co-employees without pay pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation.

According to Mack and Varmazis, DYS and DCCA did not comply with the notice, hearing and other adverse action procedures set forth in the NMI Administrative Code.

On April 2, 2012, Kapileo received a denial of hearing from the Civil Service Commission that it would not grant her request for a hearing because it was unable to take action due to a lack of quorum.

Mack and Varmazes said that the commission lacks the two-third membership of the full board needed to issue decisions because Fitial has failed to execute the laws of the Commonwealth.

The lawyers said that Faisao, DCCA, and the CNMI have ignored Kapileo’s requests to personally present her case; did not provide detailed information of the charges upon which the adverse action is based; did not hold an informal administrative conference; failed to consider the objections; did not issue a final decision; and failed to provide sufficient notice about appeal rights to CSC.