Saipan hotel accused of discrimination

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands >> The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission yesterday filed a discrimination suit against the Dai-Ichi Hotel Saipan Beach.

The lawsuit alleges the hotel fired 40 employees because they were Filipino. It also claims the hotel denied promotions to non-Japanese employees and retaliated against a cook for filing a discrimination claim against the company.

The 40 employees were fired in 1998 following a union organizing campaign.

An investigation found the Filipinos were replaced with workers from Nepal because the hotel believed the Nepalese workers were less likely to support unions, the commission said.

The National Labor Relations Board obtained a court order requiring the hotel to take back 38 employees. As of yesterday, 23 employees had returned to work.

However, the order was overturned on appeal, so the workers could lose their jobs again, the commission said.

"In addition to suing Dai-Ichi for discrimination, EEOC is seeking a preliminary injunction to protect the jobs of the reinstated workers and to require the hotel to employ any of the others who want their job back," said William Tamayo, an attorney with the commission's San Francisco office.

"While the NLRB sought to hold the hotel responsible for anti-union actions, the commission seeks to hold Dai-Ichi accountable for basing decisions about hiring, firing and promotion on national origin instead of experience, skills and merit," he said.

The lawsuit seeks permanent reinstatement, back pay, compensation for suffering and punitive damages.

The commission's Honolulu office is responsible for investigating discrimination complaints in Hawaii, in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Wake Island.

Saipan is the most populous island in the Northern Mariana Islands, located about 3,700 miles west of Hawaii.