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.
Showing posts with label Deanne Siemer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deanne Siemer. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Labor says Siemer 'cleaned up' all pending cases
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Lawyer Deanne Siemer completed in 2008 a two-year project to clean up all pending labor cases that have accumulated at the Department of Labor's administrative hearing office from 1997 through 2007.
With the conclusion of the project, all 4,897 labor cases from 2007 and prior years have been closed, according to Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas and Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat in a report to the Legislature.
Exceptions to the closed cases were 22 cases from those years remaining on appeal in San Nicolas' office as well as 27 cases remaining in the Commonwealth courts, they said.
The two top Labor officials said the Administrative Hearing Office heard in November 2008 the very last 2007 case.
As part of the implementation of the performance benchmarks for Labor investigators and hearing officers who handle labor cases, Kaipat reportedly implemented a weekly tracking system for all cases filed in the current year.
San Nicolas and Kaipat said the tracking spreadsheet is updated every week and shows what cases have come in, whether the case has been mediated, what the status of the investigation is, when the case is scheduled for hearing, whether an administrative order has been issued, and whether an appeal has been filed or the case has been closed.
“This system has resulted in a more orderly processing of 2008 cases with no cases lost in the administrative work between investigators and hearing officers,” the two officials said.
Last year, 253 cases were filed at Labor. The Hearing Office reportedly completed 157 of those cases, while 96 cases remained open for investigations, hearings, and opinions to be completed during 2009.
San Nicolas and Kaipat stated that at Labor's Processing Division, Labor Director Barry Hirshbein accomplished the task of reducing over 11,000 pending applications to fewer than 1,000 by July 2008.
“Using the new automation system, we are now running about two to three weeks to get most application processed,” the officials added.
Labor says Siemer 'cleaned up' all pending cases
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Lawyer Deanne Siemer completed in 2008 a two-year project to clean up all pending labor cases that have accumulated at the Department of Labor's administrative hearing office from 1997 through 2007.
With the conclusion of the project, all 4,897 labor cases from 2007 and prior years have been closed, according to Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas and Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat in a report to the Legislature.
Exceptions to the closed cases were 22 cases from those years remaining on appeal in San Nicolas' office as well as 27 cases remaining in the Commonwealth courts, they said.
The two top Labor officials said the Administrative Hearing Office heard in November 2008 the very last 2007 case.
As part of the implementation of the performance benchmarks for Labor investigators and hearing officers who handle labor cases, Kaipat reportedly implemented a weekly tracking system for all cases filed in the current year.
San Nicolas and Kaipat said the tracking spreadsheet is updated every week and shows what cases have come in, whether the case has been mediated, what the status of the investigation is, when the case is scheduled for hearing, whether an administrative order has been issued, and whether an appeal has been filed or the case has been closed.
“This system has resulted in a more orderly processing of 2008 cases with no cases lost in the administrative work between investigators and hearing officers,” the two officials said.
Last year, 253 cases were filed at Labor. The Hearing Office reportedly completed 157 of those cases, while 96 cases remained open for investigations, hearings, and opinions to be completed during 2009.
San Nicolas and Kaipat stated that at Labor's Processing Division, Labor Director Barry Hirshbein accomplished the task of reducing over 11,000 pending applications to fewer than 1,000 by July 2008.
“Using the new automation system, we are now running about two to three weeks to get most application processed,” the officials added.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Labor completes case backlog project
Lawyer Deanne Siemer, center, gestures during a forum on the new labor law at Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe in this August file photo. Also in picture are Labor director Barry Hirshbein, right and Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat. (Jacqueline Hernandez) The Department of Labor announced Thursday that it has completed a 24-month project to clean up all pending labor cases and agency cases from the years 1997 through 2007.
"We completed the adjudication and closure of 4,968 cases," Deputy Secretary Jacinta M. Kaipat said. "We started this project in October 2006 and we finished at the end of September 2008, just as we said we would."
The project covered labor cases in which individuals bring complaints to the Labor Department, usually about unpaid wages or overtime, and also agency cases in which the department itself brings a case against an employer, usually about companywide practices.
Because the department has very limited manpower and was swamped with cases, it could not make much progress with the backlog in 2006.
"We recruited Deanne Siemer to help us in October 2006. She is a very experienced trial lawyer and has served as a judge and mediator in many complex cases in the United States. We asked her whether we could conceivably clean up all the cases that had built up over the years," Kaipat said. "Deanne told us this could be done with a crew of experienced, trained, temporary paralegals, so we authorized her to recruit those people to help. Ultimately, she recruited four people, all of whom are locals," Kaipat said.
"Deanne contributed her time without any pay or per diem of any kind, and we paid the paralegals at the U.S. minimum wage or more, depending on their level of experience. Each of the paralegals had their own business, so they worked on a temporary basis as independent contractors," Kaipat explained. "We are very grateful to Sarah Blalock, Josephine Kapileo, Khris Dela Paz, and Tara Aldan who were tremendously efficient."
The department reported to the Secretary of Finance that it spent $7.25 per case for the entire handling from start to finish of each of the 4,968 cases by the paralegal team. It also spent $1.90 per case for advertising the notices of hearing, the issuance of orders, and the closure of cases so that each party would have adequate published notice of the status of each case.
"We spent a total of $36,012 on the temporary paralegal services for all these cases, and we spent a total of $9,450 for advertising and supplies," Kaipat reported. "This was a very cost-effective project. We finished the job on time and within budget."
"In order to complete this project on time, Deanne advanced her own funds to pay the paralegals on a current basis, so they would not have to wait for the Commonwealth’s procurement process to grind to a conclusion on their invoices," Kaipat said. "They are small businesses, and they need to be paid promptly. Deanne then invoiced the government for the amounts she had advanced."
The department reported that the Commonwealth has now paid Siemer’s invoices for the amounts she advanced to the paralegals and for advertising, so the project is completed.
The department has nine remaining cases from the year 2007 to be heard.
"These are mostly cases where hearings had to be rescheduled because of lawyers’ conflicts with other hearings or obligations. They are all on the Hearing Office calendar to be completed by the end of November," Kaipat said.
The department also has six opinions remaining to be issued from cases filed in 2007 and prior years that have already been heard.
"We expect to have all these opinions issued by the end of October," Kaipat said. "We are almost completely current, dealing now with mostly 2008 cases. The processing of the 2008 cases is going very well." (Department of Labor)
Labor completes case backlog project
Lawyer Deanne Siemer, center, gestures during a forum on the new labor law at Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe in this August file photo. Also in picture are Labor director Barry Hirshbein, right and Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat. (Jacqueline Hernandez) The Department of Labor announced Thursday that it has completed a 24-month project to clean up all pending labor cases and agency cases from the years 1997 through 2007.
"We completed the adjudication and closure of 4,968 cases," Deputy Secretary Jacinta M. Kaipat said. "We started this project in October 2006 and we finished at the end of September 2008, just as we said we would."
The project covered labor cases in which individuals bring complaints to the Labor Department, usually about unpaid wages or overtime, and also agency cases in which the department itself brings a case against an employer, usually about companywide practices.
Because the department has very limited manpower and was swamped with cases, it could not make much progress with the backlog in 2006.
"We recruited Deanne Siemer to help us in October 2006. She is a very experienced trial lawyer and has served as a judge and mediator in many complex cases in the United States. We asked her whether we could conceivably clean up all the cases that had built up over the years," Kaipat said. "Deanne told us this could be done with a crew of experienced, trained, temporary paralegals, so we authorized her to recruit those people to help. Ultimately, she recruited four people, all of whom are locals," Kaipat said.
"Deanne contributed her time without any pay or per diem of any kind, and we paid the paralegals at the U.S. minimum wage or more, depending on their level of experience. Each of the paralegals had their own business, so they worked on a temporary basis as independent contractors," Kaipat explained. "We are very grateful to Sarah Blalock, Josephine Kapileo, Khris Dela Paz, and Tara Aldan who were tremendously efficient."
The department reported to the Secretary of Finance that it spent $7.25 per case for the entire handling from start to finish of each of the 4,968 cases by the paralegal team. It also spent $1.90 per case for advertising the notices of hearing, the issuance of orders, and the closure of cases so that each party would have adequate published notice of the status of each case.
"We spent a total of $36,012 on the temporary paralegal services for all these cases, and we spent a total of $9,450 for advertising and supplies," Kaipat reported. "This was a very cost-effective project. We finished the job on time and within budget."
"In order to complete this project on time, Deanne advanced her own funds to pay the paralegals on a current basis, so they would not have to wait for the Commonwealth’s procurement process to grind to a conclusion on their invoices," Kaipat said. "They are small businesses, and they need to be paid promptly. Deanne then invoiced the government for the amounts she had advanced."
The department reported that the Commonwealth has now paid Siemer’s invoices for the amounts she advanced to the paralegals and for advertising, so the project is completed.
The department has nine remaining cases from the year 2007 to be heard.
"These are mostly cases where hearings had to be rescheduled because of lawyers’ conflicts with other hearings or obligations. They are all on the Hearing Office calendar to be completed by the end of November," Kaipat said.
The department also has six opinions remaining to be issued from cases filed in 2007 and prior years that have already been heard.
"We expect to have all these opinions issued by the end of October," Kaipat said. "We are almost completely current, dealing now with mostly 2008 cases. The processing of the 2008 cases is going very well." (Department of Labor)
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
'950 alien workers unaccounted for'
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
There are about 950 alien workers in the CNMI who could not be accounted for and are therefore considered overstayers, according to a CNMI Labor Department official.
Deanne Siemer, volunteer consultant and Labor administrative hearing officer, said these 950 people came to the CNMI legally and are still here, but they do not have current status to remain and have been published as overstayers.
“If these people are picked up by Immigration, they will be deported,” she said.
Siemer said the number is an estimate until Labor gets all the annual reviews done by Oct. 30, 2008.
She disclosed the number of alleged overstayers during Thursday's meeting with officials and representatives of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands at Labor's conference room.
The meeting, which is one of a series, was held to obtain input from the community on what amendments Labor can propose to the controversial Public Law 15-108, or the new reform labor law.
“A lot of the people that folks see in what they think is the underground economy are people who actually have jobs and are working two jobs, three jobs and the second or third jobs maybe illegal. That is, they have no permit for that, they may not have registered. The employer is entirely illegal. But that person actually does have a job,” said Siemer.
She said there have been estimates over the years that there are 8,000 overstayers in the CNMI, but none of these are hard facts.
Labor officials explained in the meeting that the computer systems at Labor back in the '90s were very different from the one Labor is using now.
Siemer said it is possible that there are more people out there who came into the Commonwealth during the 1980s or 1990s and never worked in 2000 and thereafter.
“If someone has been illegal for 10 years or more, it will take more time to find them,” she said.
Federal immigration authorities, Siemer said, will clearly have the funds that would enable them to go back to the 1980s and 1990s records and find these people.
“Anyone who has been illegal that long is very likely to be deported by the federal authorities as soon as they are found. The Commonwealth estimates that there are relatively few people in this class,” she said.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial had asked Labor and the Immigration Division to determine how many overstayers were, in fact, in the CNMI.
To determine the number of overstayers, Labor reviews all its actions during each quarter and determines who should have left the Commonwealth.
These are people whose labor cases are finished, whose contracts have terminated, whose appeals have been denied and so on.
A Labor employee then consults the Border Management System and finds out who did leave. The remaining people are put on the quarterly overstayer list.
The overstayer list is published in the newspapers for two consecutive weeks, and people are given the opportunity to come in to Labor and correct the records.
Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat certifies the corrected quarterly list and sends it to the Immigration Division.
'950 alien workers unaccounted for'
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
There are about 950 alien workers in the CNMI who could not be accounted for and are therefore considered overstayers, according to a CNMI Labor Department official.
Deanne Siemer, volunteer consultant and Labor administrative hearing officer, said these 950 people came to the CNMI legally and are still here, but they do not have current status to remain and have been published as overstayers.
“If these people are picked up by Immigration, they will be deported,” she said.
Siemer said the number is an estimate until Labor gets all the annual reviews done by Oct. 30, 2008.
She disclosed the number of alleged overstayers during Thursday's meeting with officials and representatives of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands at Labor's conference room.
The meeting, which is one of a series, was held to obtain input from the community on what amendments Labor can propose to the controversial Public Law 15-108, or the new reform labor law.
“A lot of the people that folks see in what they think is the underground economy are people who actually have jobs and are working two jobs, three jobs and the second or third jobs maybe illegal. That is, they have no permit for that, they may not have registered. The employer is entirely illegal. But that person actually does have a job,” said Siemer.
She said there have been estimates over the years that there are 8,000 overstayers in the CNMI, but none of these are hard facts.
Labor officials explained in the meeting that the computer systems at Labor back in the '90s were very different from the one Labor is using now.
Siemer said it is possible that there are more people out there who came into the Commonwealth during the 1980s or 1990s and never worked in 2000 and thereafter.
“If someone has been illegal for 10 years or more, it will take more time to find them,” she said.
Federal immigration authorities, Siemer said, will clearly have the funds that would enable them to go back to the 1980s and 1990s records and find these people.
“Anyone who has been illegal that long is very likely to be deported by the federal authorities as soon as they are found. The Commonwealth estimates that there are relatively few people in this class,” she said.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial had asked Labor and the Immigration Division to determine how many overstayers were, in fact, in the CNMI.
To determine the number of overstayers, Labor reviews all its actions during each quarter and determines who should have left the Commonwealth.
These are people whose labor cases are finished, whose contracts have terminated, whose appeals have been denied and so on.
A Labor employee then consults the Border Management System and finds out who did leave. The remaining people are put on the quarterly overstayer list.
The overstayer list is published in the newspapers for two consecutive weeks, and people are given the opportunity to come in to Labor and correct the records.
Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat certifies the corrected quarterly list and sends it to the Immigration Division.
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