No More Play For Interplay

Despite recent reassurances from CEO Herve Caen that Interplay was “still here”, the State of California has determined otherwise. It was reported Friday by the Orange County Register’s Tamara Chuang that California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement demanded that Interplay, developer-publisher of Fallout, to suspend operations.

An ispection of Interplay’s offices found that the company was operating without workers’ compensation insurance and had failed to pay employees.

This inspection by labor officials came on the heels of claims from seven Interplay employees that their wages and gone unpaid. A spokesperson for the California Labor Commissioner, informed the Register, “An employer has responsibilities when they open a business. The responsibilities include proper and timely payment of wages. It includes providing workers compensation coverage in case there are injuries. If the employer cannot accommodate those basic issues of doing business, we cannot allow employees to work.”

As though that weren’t bad enough, Interplay was fined $1,000 for each employee on the payroll for a total of $79,000. This penalty turns out to be one of the many straws to break the camel’s back, adding itself to the $179,000 Interplay already owes the state in back taxes, as well as the $432,000 in unpaid rent it owes its landlord, Arden Realty, who, consequently, is rumored to be ready to evict the foundering company. Worse still, Interplay is also being sued for $156,000 in back Baldur’s Gate royalties by BioWare.

Even in the face of all of this, CEO Caen remained confident, saying, “I hope to have that [insurance] back by Monday or Tuesday”, and wanted it made clear that, “[the] company has not shut down. [The state] can’t do that. It can only let me not let employees work”.

This optimism wasn’t isolated to Caen alone, as evidenced by the comments of Interplay employee Steve Jobes, who said, “The reason I stick around is that I’m a diehard loyalist and I love the people I work with. If there is any sliver of hope that Interplay may someday turn around I want to be there to see it.”