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Payday for Michael Jackson
A rare treat is in store for employees of Michael Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch: Paychecks.
The singer's camp assured California labor officials Wednesday that back wages estimated to be in the neighborhood of $306,000 will be doled out to ranch workers Thursday. In doing so, Jackson beat a state-imposed deadline, and avoided a possible lawsuit.
"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," acting state labor commissioner Robert A. Jones said in a statement.
Per the state, Jackson last met his Neverland payroll last Dec. 19.
It was not known how many staffers had been sticking it out minus paychecks. Department of Industrial Relations spokesman Dean Fryer said last week that Neverland had 69 employees as of December, but that "a lot of employees" had subsequently left.
Any workers who are left are under orders from the state to not work. That edict came down not because of the poky payroll, but because the workers' compensation coverage that Jackson was to supposed to carry lapsed.
Jackson's reps have "indicated" they're aiming to fix the insurance problem, the state said Wednesday.
The Department of Industrial Relations said it's confident that any work currently being done at Neverland is not being done by Jackson employees. The state revealed that "members of the Jackson family" are handling security duties, and that an unnamed "local veterinarian" is paying the animal handlers himself.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals last week urged Jackson to allow the organization to place Neverland's zoo residents in "legitimate sanctuaries." The call was the latest cry of creature concern as Jackson's reputed money troubles mount. The singer's camp has insisted that the animals are fine; a federal government inspection in January confirmed as much.
Jackson originally was given until Tuesday to make good on the back wages, but he won a one-day extension when his reps explained "they [were] trying to come up with the money," a Department of Industrial Relations spokeswoman told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Jackson's finances, or lack thereof, have been the subject of debate for years. At his child molestation trial last year, the prosecution argued that cash troubles drove Jackson to drink, prey upon a boy, then 13, and plot to send the child and his family against their will to Brazil. Jackson was acquitted of all charges.
Last week, Jackson's spokeswoman Raymone Bain said that the payroll issue was not related to a super-sized bank loan that was due around the same time Neverland workers stopped getting paid. But there was no explanation as to why Jackson fell in arrears to his ranch staff.
While Jackson has made one deadline, another looms. Per last week's stop-work order, the pop star has until Mar. 24 to pay $69,000 in penalties for not carrying workers' compensation insurance. He also faces fines of more than $100,000 for not paying up in the payroll department.
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