By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The near-$1.9m in total damages awarded to five former Gaming Board employees was yesterday overturned by the Court of Appeal which branded their payouts as “excessive sums”.

Appeal justice Gregory Smith, in a unanimous verdict, ruled that no damages for wrongful dismissal were due to any of Kayla Ward, Georgette Johnson, Latoya Knowles, Dwaynel Archer and Hope Miller because they had already received their lawful compensation in accordance with the Employment Act’s section 29.

And, in also determining that none of the five were due any special damages, the Court of Appeal also rejected “basic awards” for unfair dismissal for four of five. The only such award upheld was $52,873 for Georgette Johnson, while just the issue of “compensatory damages” for unfair dismissal was sent back to the Supreme Court for fresh determination by another registrar.

And the Court of Appeal gave specific instructions as to how the “compensatory damages” should be calculated by the Supreme Court as it largely overturned the June 6, 2024, award by Edmund Turner, the deputy registrar, who found the five were entitled to a combined $1.895m as compensation for the loss and damages they had suffered, with that figure also including interest on the sums awarded.

The five were among 24 former Gaming Board employees who then-senior justice Indra Charles ruled were wrongfully and unfairly dismissed between October 2017 and February 2018 following the Minnis administration’s election to office.

Mr Turner had awarded Ms Ward some $442,363 in damages plus just over $150,000 in interest for a total payout of $593,784. The interest was calculated at 3 percent for the period between Ms Ward’s redundancy, which occurred on November 30, 2017, to the February 17, 2020, date of Justice Charles’ ruling. The rate was raised to 6.25 percent from the date of the judge’s ruling to Mr Turner’s verdict.

Ms Johnson secured the highest total award of $611,944, which represented $452,620 in assessed damages and over $159,000 in combined interest on this sum. Ms Knowles and Ms Miller were awarded a total of $261,055 and $242,912, respectively, while Mr Archer gained $185,036.

However, the Government and Gaming Board, as the casino and web shop regulator, moved swiftly to challenge the damages award that was restricted solely to wrongful and unfair dismissal.

And the Court of Appeal noted then-justice Charles “made no other Order for award of any other damages such as exemplary damages; damages in lieu of reinstatement; damages for matters like future pension and health insurance payments; damages for not communicating with the minister pursuant to section 26(3) of the Employment Act 2017; future vacation leave; and medical costs”.

Focusing on the wrongful dismissal aspect, the Court of Appeal said the Employment Act applied given that the five were entitled to no better terms, benefits or conditions other than what was set out in statute law. 

And the Gaming Board had already paid them due compensation in accordance with the Act’s section 29, with Ms Johnson receiving $101,894; Ms Ward gaining $20,894; Ms Knowles, some $55,681; Mr Archer receiving $35,458; and Ms Miller some $40,382.

The Court of Appeal, though, said the five and their attorney, Obie Ferguson KC, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, “wrongly contended that they were also entitled to more payment for reasonable notice for wrongful dismissal at common law”.

Adding that this claim was “ill conceived”, the Court of Appeal said the Supreme Court’s deputy registrar had wrongly awarded sums - ranging from 24 months and 30 months’ salary, and accrued vacation - that “far exceed any calculation of damages under section 29 of the Employment Act, and the respective caps of 24 and 48 weeks’ pay that are set on the damages for wrongful dismissal” under it.

“In the absence of proof of better terms and conditions in an industrial agreement or any other agreement, and in keeping with [legal precedent], the statutory awards specified in section 29 of the Employment Act were the correct awards to be made for the wrongful dismissal of these respondents,” the Court of Appeal concluded.

“The respondents accepted that they received their statutory payments under section 29 of the Employment Act. There were no further awards to be made for the wrongful dismissal of these respondents. The deputy registrar fell into error in awarding them the excessive sums, and these awards are set aside.”

As for the unfair dismissal aspect, the Court of Appeal said Mr Turner did not consider the basic and compensatory awards for such a breach separately but, instead, “lumped them together” and simply accepted Mr Ferguson’s submissions.

It added that the Gaming Board correctly sought to “disaggregate” these awards, and showed that the ‘basic’ compensation for Ms Ward was $9,000; Mr Archer was due $14,712; Ms Johnson was due $163,384; Ms Knowles some $44,134; and Ms Miller another $35,945.

And, given that the Gaming Board had “made certain payments” to the five when they were terminated, “and also by way of satisfaction of the special damages claim”, the Court of Appeal found all these payouts - apart from the one to Ms Johnson - “exceeded the basic award for unfair dismissal” and the excess balance applied to the compensatory award.

“Therefore, in respect of the four respondents, Kayla Ward, Dwaynel Archer, Latoya Knowles and Hope Miller, there is no sum to be paid to them in respect of the basic award for unfair dismissal. In respect of Georgette Johnson, the sum of $52,872.82 is due to be paid to her in respect of the basic award for unfair dismissal,” the Court of Appeal ruled.

And, given that it was impossible to determine how the Supreme Court deputy registrar had determined ‘compensatory awards’, appeal justice Evans added: “In these circumstances the compensatory aspect of the award for unfair dismissal is flawed, and I am of the view that it must be referred back to the registrar of the Supreme Court for proper assessment.”