Previous Story
FOR FAILING TO PAY COURT JUDGMENT
USDOL takes legal action vs IPI
‘IPI has created humanitarian crisis in the CNMI’
The U.S Department of Labor has filed a notice with the U.S District Court for the NMI informing the court of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC’s failure to comply with a court judgement that dates back to 2019.
According to the USDOL notice, IPI cannot continue to disregard the federal court judgment, its employees, and the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA.
USDOL claims that IPI has failed to pay the back wages the federal court ordered in a judgment on April 2019 for employees who weren’t paid for over two months.
The original consent judgment provided for a payment plan totaling $3,360,000 including a December 2019 payment of $1,020,000.
USDOL stated that IPI defaulted on its December 2019 payment but made a partial makeup payment of $250,000 on May 29, 2020.
However, the judgement was amended on May 28, 2020 in the amount of $6,909,333.43 because of a lawsuit filed by Pacific Rim Land Development LLC.
The Pacific Rim lawsuit against IPI is related to the consent judgment entered by the court in April 2019 because it enjoined IPI from violating the FLSA.
USDOL stated in its notice that IPI executives unlawfully required stranded employees to work without pay during a global pandemic, failed to meet their basic necessities or provide for their return to their home countries, and have created another humanitarian crisis in the CNMI and they cannot let it continue to happen.
Back in 2019, IPI agreed to a consent judgment with the USDOL to settle and resolve labor violations by the casino investor’s former construction contractors.
The consent judgment was signed by USDOL senior trial attorney Boris Orlov, IPI Holdings chair Cui Li Jie, and her lawyer, Eugene R. Sullivan. IPI agreed to pay USDOL $3.36 million for back wages, liquidated damages, and civil monetary penalties.
