Sako ordered to pay ex-workers $185K

The Department of Labor has ordered the now defunct Sako Corporation to pay an additional $185,000 in contract damages to its former employees.

In a supplement to her Aug. 9, 2005 order, Labor hearing officer Maya Kara said Sako and its officials should pay each of its 371 former employees contract damages of $500 for wrongful termination.

“Failure to give adequate notice of termination of contract, abrupt cessation of business without proper notice and abandonment of employees are egregious and flagrant violations not only of the employment contract and of labor law but also of fundamental trust that is the core of the employer-employee relationship,” Kara said.

“It is therefore appropriate that such behavior be sanctioned and that the individual workers’ injuries be mitigated by the imposition of such contract damages,” she added.

Kara, in the previous order, fined Sako $185,000—or $500 for each of the 371 workers—for abandoning its workers and committing several labor law violations.

These violations include: failure to fully compensate the workers in a timely manner; failure to timely notify the employees of its reduction in force; failure to give timely notice of termination for cause; and illegal employment of a worker named Jun Young Ham.

Sako and its officers—president Kyun Hee Kun and vice president Min Hyung Ki—were permanently barred from employing or utilizing nonresident workers in the Commonwealth. Likewise, both Sako officers were permanently disqualified from being employed as nonresident workers in the CNMI.

Further, Kara asked the Department of Commerce to initiate proceeding to revoke Sako’s business license for garment manufacturing and any other business.

She also gave the workers until Sept. 23, 2005 to seek employment within or without the garment industry.

The transfer rights, however, do not apply to those who worked for Sako on temporary work authorizations, as well as those who have a pending labor case within a CNMI or federal court or agency.

Those who do not wish to transfer, or who fail to transfer within the given period, will be repatriated at Sako’s expense primarily. “However, in light of…Sako’s cessation of business activity, the issuer of the employer’s bond shall be liable for the costs of repatriation upon demand by the Department of Labor,” Kara said.

Sako closed and ceased its business operations on March 10, 2005 due to eviction.