The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) understood that Imperial Pacific International (IPI) required to take a fortuitous and unfortunate interval from the construction work on Saipan’s the Imperial Palace casino since it couldn’t get aligned with obligations set by Saipan. The government and regulators cannot transcend the revelation that the company hadn’t been paying its workers for months. Saipan ordered IPI to figure out a way to resolve all the due to its workers or face critical problems. The casino operator though accumulated an amount of money, all know, it won’t be enough to pay all its dues. So, they are not out of trouble yet.
IPI confronted several accusations on a variety of topics, involving questionable construction practice, inability to retaliate government fees, and total avoidance of not paying their employees while forcing them to live below standard lives. The latest issue had found its way to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which submitted a petition to the CNMI courts to accuse IPI of creating such a humanitarian crisis.
The court was to follow the directives, but meanwhile, IPI managed to pull money out of some sources to pay all its employees. The Guam Daily Post states that workers have been receiving back pay for 21 to 26 periods. This covers a segment of the outstanding obligation. Some reports show evidence of more due, stating that the company was able to gather only $3.36 million to pay the workers. Some find the act of IPI making its workers undergo such deprived condition.
Redemption Window Might Get Extended
The deadline set by the government for the IPI may have to be extended. If to the eyes of Judge Manglona IPI’s activities seem like a promising turn for the companies past unhuman behaviour, extended retaliation time can be an option.
Imperial Palace was expected to observe the first phase of their overall construction plan finished in 2018. But with that looming deadline at the same year, IPI proclaimed that it required more time. Delays are not alien events when it comes to construction projects. However, with several issues emerged from IPI’s own questionable activities, the company has fallen far behind, and it may need almost a couple of years to add on the initial timeframe to finish the project.
