The Tribune

By Letre Sweeting

Tribune Staff Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

A LOCAL transport and construction company must pay more than $600k to nine former employees after terminating them without pay.

Scuba Bimini Water Taxi Bus & Construction did not respond to a summons or appear for the trial, leaving Deputy Registrar Edmund Turner to largely accept the plaintiffs’ claims without contest.

He ultimately ordered the company to pay nine of the 11 plaintiffs $613,152.47.

The company must also pay $50,000 in legal fees by July 30, 2023.

Deputy Registrar Turner noted that the Employment Act specifies the minimum period of notice a company must give employees when terminating their employment contract.

For regular employees, this includes two weeks notice or two weeks basic pay instead of notice; and two weeks basic pay for each year up to 24 weeks.

For employees in supervisory or managerial positions, this includes one month’s notice or one month’s basic pay in lieu of notice; and one month’s basic pay for each year up to 48 weeks.

Some plaintiffs argued that they were not paid overtime despite working as many as seven days a week for more than 11 hours daily.

In some of their cases, Deputy Registrar Turner revised the amount of money owed to the plaintiffs upwards above what they asked.

Pietro Burrows, an operator employed from January 21, 2019, to November 28, 2019, is owed $65,527.55.

Roderick Smith, employed from December 17, 2018, to December 1, 2019, is owed $82,085.

Arlington Rolle, an employee from May 17 to November 21, 2019, is owed $46,040.93.

Raymond Rolle, an employee from November 11, 2018, to December 15, 2019, is owed $66,944.54.

Isaac Escamast, an employee from April 9, 2019, to December 10, 2019, is owed $65,211.27.

Derrick Harvey, an employee from May 17, 2019, to November 28, 2019, is owed $83,378.71.

Terrance Stubbs, an employee from January 21, 2019, to December 25, 2019, is owed $63,708.13.

Tiko Rolle, an employee from November 11, 2018, to November 21, 2019, is owed $55,443.57.

Tavero Rolle, an employee from November 11, 2018, to November 21, 2019, is owed $47,954.

Deputy Registrar Turner noted that payments to two other plaintiffs, Howard Thompson and Danie Rahming, were not determined because they did not provide evidence of their employment and work hours.