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*Dozens of employees at Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch will finally receive paychecks after the singer agreed to make good on hundreds of thousands of dollars owed in back wages.
"Jackson's representatives will distribute payroll directly to the employees," read a statement from the California Department of Industrial Relations.
The pop star had been given a 5 p.m. Wednesday (March 15th) deadline to pay the $306,000 in wages to the workers to avoid a lawsuit by the state. The department said it had received complaints from at least 30 employees that they had not seen a penny in payments since Dec. 19.
"There is no need to take legal action in this matter at this time, as our main concern that all employees receive wages owed to them is being addressed,” Robert Jones, acting California labor commissioner, said in a statement.
Jackson is also expected to pay $100,000 in fines for failing to pay workers. Jackson's representatives also said they were in the process of obtaining workers compensation insurance for 69 employees of the ranch. The state ordered Neverland employees to stop working at the 2,600-acre Santa Barbara County estate after learning the mandatory insurance coverage for work-related injuries had lapsed in January.
Jackson also faces a fine for allowing the coverage to run out. The amount was originally estimated at $69,000. According to Jones, Jackson's payroll records are still being verified, and the combined figure for back wages and penalties may change upon the final tally due next week.
*Meanwhile, reports that Jackson has shuttered the estate and let go its employees, are untrue according his publicist, Raymone K. Bain.
"It is public knowledge that Mr. Jackson currently resides in the Middle Eastern country of Bahrain," Bain said Thursday evening in a statement emailed to EUR. "He therefore decided to close his house and reduce his work force."
Bain made the point that the ranch was still operating, at least on a limited basis.
"Reports indicating that Neverland has been closed or 'shut down' for good are inaccurate," her statement said.
However, Bain's statement, which didn't indicate what plans Jackson has for the estate's future, concluded: "There will be no further comments regarding this matter."
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