Umbrella permit holders told to report to Labor
Friday, 28 May 2010 00:00 By Gemma Q. Casas - Reporter
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THE commonwealth government requires all umbrella permit holders to report to the local Department of Labor on or before the expiration date of their annual employment contract or their permits will be revoked.

All umbrella permits are valid until Nov. 27, 2011.

On the left hand corner of each umbrella permit is a box labeled “Next Filing Date to Avoid Revocation” which is referred to as the “report-back date” in the 77-page regulations for the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007 as amended by Public Law 17-1.

“The report-back date is an important measure for ensuring compliance with employment requirements. In the event the department is unable to confirm that conditions continue to be met, the permit will be revoked,” the regulations state.

Labor’s volunteer attorney Deanne Siemer told the Society for Human Resource Management during yesterday’s teleconference meeting that the CNMI government will allow legal guest workers to have a 32-hour a month part-time job.

She said part of this liberalized labor policy is the creation of a new classification known as service provider which is a privilege extended to documented foreign workers who have stayed for at least 10 years in the CNMI.

“A foreign national worker who is currently eligible to work in the commonwealth and who has been employed successfully in the commonwealth for 10 years or longer may become a service provider and sell his or her services, but not any kind of goods or products or the services of others, upon approval by the [Labor] secretary,” the regulations further read.

A service provider must be in good standing with respect to payment of all taxes and charges of the Commonwealth Health Center.

The CNMI government said a revoked umbrella permit is a ground for deportation but the federal government disagrees.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said that all umbrella permit holders will be allowed to stay in the CNMI until Nov. 27, 2011 even if Labor revokes the permits.

According to CNMI labor regulations, the annual registration of aliens is necessary to track down their condition so as not to unduly burden the cash-strapped government.