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Press Release From Independent Source

USVI’s Senators Hodge & Thomas to Meet with Frenchman’s Reef Employees

Senators Athneil “Bobby” Thomas and Stedmann Hodge, Jr respectively. Photo: Provided
ST. THOMAS, USVI - The employees in the United States Virgin Islands’ (USVI) hospitality industry were some of the most severely misplaced job wise, after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, primarily due to the loss of the territory’s hotels.

According to a press release from the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, to date, the men and women who worked at the Marriott’s Frenchman’s Reef are still dealing with the effects of losing income from their employer of many years, and are now also struggling with an apparent misunderstanding as a result of how the hotel submitted documentation to the Department of Labor.

After the storms, the Marriott’s Frenchman’s Reef Hotel provided employees with a grant to assist with replacing lost or damaged items.

The grant was reported to the Department of Labor (DOL), by the hotel, and is now being deemed by the DOL as wages earned. As a result, the payment of unemployment wages has ceased, until the hotel’s employees have repaid the DOL for all the unreported wages earned (the Grant).

“Fully understanding the sensitive and precarious position these employees were placed in, Senators Stedmann Hodge, Jr. and Athneil “Bobby” Thomas have begun to provide some much-needed assistance by meeting with a few of those affected, but realize a meeting with all of the stakeholders involved is needed,” the release noted.

As such, a Meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 24, 2019 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at The Headquarters for Senator Stedmann Hodge, Jr (located directly across from The Rothschild Francis Market).

The purpose of this Town Hall Meeting is to provide the employees with an in-depth understanding of what is taking place and to determine the best manner to resolve the issue amicably.

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