State To Sue If Michael Jackson Doesn't Pay Workers By Tuesday
By Associated Press - March 14, 2006LOS OLIVOS, Calif. (AP) _ State regulators said they will go after Michael Jackson in court if he fails to meet a Tuesday deadline to pay $100,000 in penalties and $306,000 in back pay owed to nearly 50 workers at his Neverland Ranch.
"If they don't comply then we file suit to get a judgment," said Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the California Department of Industrial Relations.
The ranch operators have until the close of business Tuesday to pay up.
"It's pretty clear that they owe this money," he said. "We've got all these wage claims. People are telling me they haven't been paid from Dec. 19."
Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said the entertainer was on a plane from London to the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain most of the day on Thursday after traveling in Europe.
She said he learned of the situation at Neverland when he arrived in Bahrain late in the day, but she had been unable to discuss it with him because of the time difference.
"He's been made aware," Bain said. "I'm sure this will be resolved."
Jackson, who has been living in Bahrain since being acquitted of child molestation charges last year, has been rumored for some time to be in financial trouble.
Thomas Mesereau Jr., a former Jackson lawyer, said he had been "in touch with people involved with Michael" and "I'm not aware of any plans to sell the ranch."
On Thursday, the state barred scores of Jackson employees from working at Neverland after learning that workers compensation coverage had lapsed in January.
Some workers who live on the 2,600-acre estate can remain, but no work can be done until the ranch either obtains coverage or hires an outside company that has it, Fryer said.
The state gave ranch operators five days to appeal the decision and 30 days to appeal a $69,000 fine, $1,000 for each worker, but in the meantime all work must stop, Fryer said.
An accounting firm that handles ranch finances for Jackson "assured us that they are trying to comply" and had informed employees that they had to stop work, Fryer said.
The ranch includes several amusement park rides and has been home over the years to elephants, giraffes, snakes, orangutans, tigers and a crocodile. Fryer said local animal welfare agencies were notified of the shutdown so they could make arrangements to feed and care for the animals
The animal activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called Friday for Jackson's menagerie to be removed from the ranch and placed in sanctuaries.
"Mr. Jackson is universally known for his love of animals. We hope that he will accept PETA's offer to help ensure that none of the animals at Neverland end up at shabby roadside zoos or exotic-animal auctions or in the hands of exotic animal brokers, breeders, or dealers," PETA said in a letter faxed to Bain.
County animal officials said the zoo apparently is doing fine.
"At this point it appears that they're still taking responsibility for the animals,'' said Jan Glick, director of Santa Barbara County Animal Services. "Mr. Jackson's business office is telling us there is still staff on the ranch, and they are intending to get the workers' compensation back in effect by ... Monday." | 
__May11th2017.gif)
.gif)