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Consent judgment vs IPI approved
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has approved the consent judgment that requires Imperial Pacific International Holdings Ltd. and its subsidiary, Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC, to pay the U.S. Department of Labor a total of $3.36 million to resolve a labor lawsuit filed by Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta.
In the consent judgment she signed last Thursday, Manglona said the court shall retain jurisdiction Each party shall bear its own attorney’s fees and other expenses.
The parties filed in court last Thursday a draft consent judgment, which the judge then approved.
Manglona said this consent judgment represents a full, final, and complete judicial resolution of all claims alleged against two companies (IPI collectively) in Acosta’s complaint.
The $3.36 million is composed of $1,580,000 in back wages of the workers, another $1,580,000 in liquidated damages, and $200,000 in civil monetary penalties.
IPI has already paid U.S. Labor $300,000; the rest will be paid off in three installments as part of the consent judgment.
The accounting firm Burger, Comer, and Magliari has been appointed as an independent monitor to monitor IPI’s compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and the terms of the consent judgment.
Acosta filed the lawsuit last week following an investigation on IPI’s casino construction project in Garapan from Jan. 22, 2016, to Dec. 19, 2017, which revealed violations of the FLSA caused by IPI contractors’ failure to pay overtime and minimum wages, as well as maintain records required by the FLSA.
