Fifteen former workers of the defunct Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino in the Northern Marianas have been awarded $US800,000 for wrongful termination.
Dynasty casino, Tinian, CNMI. Photo: RNZ / Mark Rabago
The US District Court for the CNMI also found the company at fault for fraudulent concealment.
The former workers were awarded $US395,168 in compensatory damages, which consist of lost wages and lost benefits as well as claims for mental anguish.
The court also awarded them $US405,000 in punitive damages, in equal amounts of $US27,000 each.
The former workers sued Tinian Dynasty's owners for allegedly lying to them that they were legally authorized to work despite the denial of their CNMI-Only Transitional Worker petitions.
A majority of the 15 plaintiffs have lived in the CNMI for many years and have children who are US citizens.
Tinian Dynasty's casino operation stopped in August 2015 before the hotel operation halted in March 2016.