Former employee sues IPI for discrimination

Stephen Abonita claims the company paid him less because he is Filipino.

Northern Mariana Islands.- Imperial Pacific International (IPI) faces another legal battle. Stephen Abonita, a former pit manager at the casino operator, is suing the company for alleged discrimination. Abonita’s attorney, Bruce Berline, told the US District Court for the NMI his client was paid significantly less than Caucasian and Chinese colleagues because he is Filipino.

He claims he was not compensated for overtime and was penalised for joining protests against the company with other Filipino workers. According to the Saipan Tribune, Berline asked the court to award back pay, front pay, emotional distress pay, punitive damages, and other relief the court may deem necessary.

According to the lawsuit, Abonita was hired in the Philippines in October 2015 and signed a one-year contract under which he would receive a base salary of $48,000 per year, 14 days per year of paid time off, one free meal per day, and free return transportation to the Philippines upon the expiration of his contract. The contract did not obligate Abonita to work overtime, nor did it exempt him from overtime pay for any hours that surpassed 40 hours a week.

Abonita, who arrived in Saipan to start work around February 2016, was reportedly required to work at the casino for at least 8.5 hours a day due to mandatory briefings beginning 30 minutes before each shift.

Berline said that around the same time Abonita started working, IPI hired a caucasian pit manager who made $60,000 a year, even though he had fewer years of experience than Abonita. In addition, Abonita’s caucasian counterparts received a monthly housing allowance of $700, while he reportedly had to pay $25 a week to live in one of IPI’s dorms.

The lawyer said that when Abonita had to return to the Philippines due to the expiration of his CW-1 visa, Abonita sometimes had to pay for the airfare himself, even though there was a clause in his contract that said IPI would pay the expense. After Super Typhoon Yutu, Abonita joined other Filipinos in protesting against IPI for failing to compensate them and trying to repatriate them without pay.