Local
Monday, December 07, 2009

US Labor works on prevailing wage determinations in CNMI

By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter

The U.S. Department of Labor is now providing guidance for prevailing wage determinations for use in the CNMI effective Nov. 28, the date when the U.S. federal government took over CNMI immigration.

But the USDOL notice was published a few days after federalization, in the Dec. 4 Federal Register.

The prevailing wage is different from, and is generally higher than, the minimum wage.

In the CNMI, the current minimum wage is $4.55 an hour, and will increase by 50 cents every year until it reaches the federal wage floor of $7.25 an hour.

USDOL's Employment and Training Administration, in a notice, said it is now “providing guidance about the implementation of the issuance of prevailing wage determinations for applications in the CNMI.”

The USDOL notice can be accessed at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-28963.pdf.

It said the CNMI Department of Labor, as of Nov. 28, would normally be charged with the issuance of prevailing wage determinations under the various regulations governing such determinations.

“Since there is very little time between Nov. 28, 2009, and Jan. 1, 2010, the Department has determined it is more feasible for the Department to receive such requests directly rather than have the CNMI receive and process such requests,” USDOL said.

All requests for a prevailing wage determination for a job opportunity in the CNMI made in connection with a potential filing in a labor certification program must be made in the manner described in USDOL's filing procedures.

David Gulick, district director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said last week that USDOL intended to publish its notice on the prevailing wage determination on Friday (Washington, D.C. time), which was Saturday in the CNMI.

Officials from USCIS and other component agencies of the Department of Homeland Security had said that questions about prevailing wage rates must be addressed to USDOL.

DHS officials are currently on island to help educate CNMI residents about U.S. immigration law and regulations, and oversee the federalization of CNMI immigration.

Prevailing wage is defined as the hourly wage, usual benefits and overtime, paid in the largest city in each county, to the majority of workers, laborers, and mechanics.

USDOL said the minimum monetary wages and fringe benefits to be paid are established based on what is prevailing in the locality.

A rate is determined to prevail where a single rate is paid to a majority (50 percent or more) of the workers in the same class in a particular locality.

If a single rate is not paid to the majority of workers in a locality, statistical measurements such as the median (a point in a distribution where 50 percent of the surveyed workers receive that or a higher rate and 50 percent receive a lesser rate) or the mean (average) are used to establish prevailing wage rates.

For example, in Guam, which is only about 120 miles away from the CNMI capital of Saipan, the prevailing wage rate for an accountant is $12.46 an hour or $25,917 a year to $22.70 an hour or $47,216 a year, based on data from USDOL's website.

In other U.S. states and cities, an accountant is paid more. In San Francisco, California, for example, the prevailing wage rate for an accountant is from $24.23 an hour or $50,398 a year to $44.41 an hour or $92,373 a year.

The USDOL's notice involving prevailing wage determinations in the CNMI accompanied a notice that, as of Jan. 1, 2010, the department's Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk Center (NPWHC) in Washington, D.C., will receive and process prevailing wage determination requests for use in the H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore), H-1C, H-2B, E-3 (Australia), and permanent labor certification programs.

Filing procedures

The USDOL said requestors must submit prevailing wage determination requests using the Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, Form ETA-9141.

This request must be sent to the NPWHC by U.S. Mail or comparable physical delivery service at the following address: U.S. Department of Labor-ETA, National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk Center, Attn: PWD Request; 1341 G Street, NW., Suite 201, Washington, DC 20005-3142.

On and after Nov. 28, 2009, for the CNMI and on and after Jan. 1, 2010, the NPWHC will only process prevailing wage determination requests received by mail in hard copy.

“The Department is in the process of developing an electronic means for the submission of PWD requests and will publish a notice in the Federal Register informing the public when such a process becomes available,” USDOL said.