Department Of Labor Invites ‘Laid-Off’ Sugar Bay Employees To ‘Rapid Response Services’ Workshop

ST. THOMAS — Department of Labor Commissioner Catherine Hendry, through a press release issued on Wednesday, has revealed that the department has invited former Sugar Bay Resort & Spa employees who it says were laid off by the struggling facility, to a “rapid response workshop,” to be held on Thursday at Sugar Bay.

The meeting was called, D.O.L. says, to help these employees make the transition to unemployment. The department’s staff will also be on hand to help with unemployment insurance benefits filing and/or resumé preparation and job referral, as well as to answer and/or address questions or concerns.

But employees The Consortium spoke to this afternoon said reports of mass layoffs at the beleaguered resort are misguided; as the company, instead of outright making redundant its employees, has instead chosen to shave work hours so that workers could stay on the job.

Most employees now work three days a week, according to these people, who requested anonymity because the situation has become extremely sensitive. They said some Sugar Bay workers have visited D.O.L. in a bid to receive aid to supplement their shortened workweek, but most workers continued to be employed at the resort, these employees said.

Since losing its “Dreams Resorts” status — which boasts of offering a collection of luxury resort destinations, each with its own unique personality,” and features “sun- soaked beaches, elegant accommodations, a world-class spa, gourmet dining, unlimited premium drinks, and many other pampering amenities” — the resort has been reeling from diminishing revenues because of cancelled bookings, and a website that shuttered when the partnership ended.

Sugar Bay has since closed two restaurants, and the four that remain open, these employees said, function only part of the day. Resort officials are also encouraging employees to take their vacations on time as they struggle to keep employees on board.

But how long Sugar Bay will be able to sustain the current strategy is uncertain. The resort had not paid its employees for almost two weeks, and workers are fretting that Friday will be another payless payday.

In  February, 2015, Governor Kenneth Mapp made the decision not to renew the resort’s Economic Development Commission benefits — which offered 100 percent tax free status — stating during a February 2015 press conference that Sugar Bay and Windward Passage had failed to hold  their end of the obligations as required by the EDC.

In explaining his reasoning behind the disapproval of benefits extension, Mr. Mapp said there were “tremendous violations of law” within the applications, and that it’s the government’s job to “police” the companies and make sure they are complying with the rules.

The territory’s leader then made known some of the deficiencies found within the applications of both hotels.

The governor said both entities were “below the number of required employees” that should be working at the facilities as part of the EDC agreement. Mr. Mapp also revealed that one of the hotels had already enjoyed 15 years of EDA benefits, while the other had enjoyed 20 years. Nevertheless, the Economic Development Authority sent the governor an application to grant said hotels an additional 10 years of 100 percent of tax benefits.

Mr. Mapp continued, revealing that one of the entities hadn’t filed income tax returns for more than five years, and one owed unemployment payments to the Department of Labor. One of the companies intended to invest, according to the governor, “a mere $690,000 over the next ten years,” which, he said, “given the hotels and their sizes, one must understand that $690,000 over ten years is not even sufficient monies to maintain the properties; much less monies to expand, develop and provide any expansion of the facilities.”

The chief executive also made known that the wages at Windward Passage and Sugar Bay were below industry standards, and although the hotels comply with the territory’s  minimum wage law, “given the amount of benefits that you have enjoyed for more than 15 years at 100 percent tax exemption, the wages to the employees are totally unacceptable,” he said.

But the governor said the actions taken last year were not indicative of a leader who is anti private sector; adding that he and Lieutenant Governor Osbert Potter were “fully committed in supporting the incentives given by the Economic Development Authority, but it must be done in a manner that recognizes that everyone must carry some degree of their weight in the territory.”

The governor then advocated for local businesses that have paid the majority of taxes while major corporations reap their financial rewards with little to no tax deductions; and for residents who are currently burdened with multiple tax obligations.

“We cannot continue to pile on on small businesses and employees in the territory the full burden of the services and the infrastructure of the territory,” said Mapp. “And if an entity has come into the territory, has invested, has built, has been enjoying tax benefits for 10, 15 — 20 years, there must be some avenue to wean that entity off tax exemptions. The businesses cannot remain on the bottle forever. They must have some opportunity to wean off of it.”