‘Yutu emergency pay for DPS chief illegally paid for many reasons’

The CNMI Attorney General claims that Department of Public Safety commissioner was unlawfully paid for overtime hours he accrued during the CNMI’s Super Typhoon Yutu Recovery period for many reasons.

According to the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Edward Manibusan against DPS Commissioner Robert Guerrero, one of the main reasons the commissioner is not qualified to receive typhoon emergency pay is because he is a gubernatorial appointee, meaning he is classified as exempt for purposes of eligibility for overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Manibusan

Aside from his position being exempted from receiving overtime payment, Manibusan said that Guerrero, as DPS chief, cannot be paid in excess of the salary ceiling except as provided by law.

Here, with the overtime he accrued, Guerrero’s salary in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 exceeded the salary ceiling of $65,175, which means he was unlawfully compensated.

Guerrero

“Defendant’s salary is capped by 1 CMC  8245(a), which provides that ‘the following appointed positions within the Commonwealth government shall be paid a base annual salary as follows: Commissioner, Public Safety $54,000.00.’ Defendant’s total compensation in fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2020 exceeded his statutory salary. The defendant received $46,892.96 in addition to his annual salary. The defendant received $29,388.08 in FY 2019 and $17,504.88 in FY 2020 for work that occurred in FY 2019 between Oct. 23, 2018 and Jan. 23, 2019. Defendant should be ordered to return the unlawful compensation to the Commonwealth Treasury,” Manibusan stated.

Manibusan also argues that the payment of compensation to Guerrero in excess of his salary for which there was no authorization by law exceeded the authority of the director of Personnel.

“No annual appropriation act appropriates funding to pay typhoon premium pay, overtime, or extra pay to defendant,” he said.

Also, the payment of compensation to Guerrero in excess of his salary for which there was no valid appropriation of funding exceeded the authority of the governor, Manibusan said.

“Defendant should be ordered to return to the Commonwealth Treasury all compensation in excess of his salary that exceeded the authority of the director of Personnel and the governor,” he said.