Authorities at the Ministry of Labor have ruled that the National Port Authority (NPA) wrongfully dismissed its former comptroller, Gabriel S. Bull.
Therefore, the ministy has ordered the NPA, to either reinstate Mr. Bull immediately or compensate him exceeding US$280,000.
This decision, issued on Friday, June 20, 2025, followed a formal complaint by Bull through his lawyer, Cllr. Arthur T. Johnson.
After thoroughly reviewing testimonies, documents, and other evidence, the ministry concluded that Bull’s dismissal violates the doctrine of due process.
The director and hearing officer of the Labor Division of Standards, Boakai A. Sheriff, announced that the NPA failed to conduct a proper investigation before terminating Mr. Bull’s employment.
This action, according to Sheriff, “breached both national labor standards and the NPA’s internal protocols.”
“The ministry is convinced that the complainant was wrongfully discharged,” said Sheriff in his official ruling.
As a remedy, the NPA has been instructed to either reinstate Mr. Bull with full back pay and benefits as though he were never dismissed or to compensate him financially.
The compensation package includes, 24 months’ salary of US$156,000 (at US$6,500/month), gasoline arrears: US$59,655.60 for 13,620 gallons, scratch card arrears: US$64,100 for 12,820 units, rice allowance: US$1,190 for 70 bags of 25kg rice, which summed up to US$280,945.60 in general compensation.
The ministry’s decision emphasized that no evidence was presented showing that Mr. Bull was ever investigated or held accountable through a fair process, as mandated under the labor law.
Workplace investigations, the ministry said, are essential before any termination on grounds of misconduct.
In its defense, the NPA alleged that Bull was dismissed for “gross negligence and financial mismanagement,” citing Article 5, Section 2(a) of its employee handbook.
However, Labor Ministry dismissed the claim, holding that the NPA had not followed the necessary steps to substantiate such allegations.
Mr. Bull, who had worked at the NPA for over 18 years, described his dismissal “as a shock.”
He recounted an incident on March 8, 2024, when the deputy managing director for administration asked him to issue a check for the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) late into the night.
Upon arriving at the NPA headquarters around midnight, the task could not be completed due to the unavailability of electricity. Two days later, on March 10, he received a WhatsApp message informing him of his dismissal, news he later learned, had been broadcast by the Spoon Network.
Despite the message, Mr. Bull said, he showed up for work the following Monday, and continued his duties until 3:45 p.m., when he was handed an official memo confirming his termination.
He argued that the entire process ignored established internal disciplinary procedures and that the real motive behind his dismissal was to avoid settling long-standing benefit arrears the entity owed him.
Bull also stated that at no point during his career had he been audited, reprimanded, or subjected to an internal investigation, reinforcing his claim that the termination was “unjustified and aimed at denying him nearly two decades’ worth of entitlements.”