Michael Jackson has closed the house on his Neverland Ranch and laid off some of the employees there, but has not completely shuttered the sprawling California estate.

Averting a potential state lawsuit, Michael Jackson has agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages owed to dozens of employees at his Neverland ranch, according to a statement from the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Michael Jackson’s magical palace Neverland is finally to get a dose of the real world.

MICHAEL Jackson has been ordered to close his Neverland Ranch for allowing workers’ compensation insurance to lapse at the exotic estate that has been home to elephants, orangutans and other animals over the years.