Local
Monday, December 29, 2008
Fewer hired via Employment Services
By Kristi Eaton
Reporter
File photo shows Labor Division director Barry Hirshbein and a Labor Department employee demonstrating the new processing equipment and software implemented at the department. (Saipan Tribune) Despite the Department of Labor creating a new website and adding new processing equipment and software in an effort to make jobs searches and registration easier for employees and employers, Employment Services is on par to place only a fraction of the numbers of U.S. citizens in jobs compared to past years.
As of Sept. 30 this year, 1,389 citizens had registered with Employment Services with 115, or 8 percent, hired. Since 2004, at least 20 percent of citizens registered with the service were hired each year.
The numbers are part of the Department of Labor's Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat's declaration supporting Gov. Benigno Fitial's federalization lawsuit against the U.S. government.
Kaipat notes that, “others who registered found employment on their own and still others emigrated to Guam, Hawaii, or the mainland U.S. and found jobs there.”
According to the declaration, Employment Services conducts an assessment of skills after a U.S. citizen registers with the service. When job openings occur, Employment Services refers the person with the appropriate skills. The employer who received the referral must hire the person or explain why the person is not qualified for the job or was not hired.
Kaipat, in the declaration, takes issue with reported unemployment rates for the Commonwealth, particularly among residents. She cites the estimate of 14 percent total unemployment among the Commonwealth and 20 percent unemployment among U.S. citizens in the Chamorro and Carolinian communities aged 18 to 65 years.
“From my knowledge of the community, my experience working on labor and employment matters, and the data gathered by the Labor Department, I believe these estimates are wrong and far too high,” she said, adding that the Labor Department normally has about 600 people registered at any given time in addition to an estimated 400 to 500 U.S. citizens, permanent residents and Freely Associated States citizens looking for work on their own. With these numbers, she estimates the unemployment rate at about 7.7 percent.
Kaipat said she believes there is cultural bias in the way the U.S. collects unemployment data in the CNMI. She lists five reasons: surveys are done primarily in English, with Spanish the only alternative; and foreign workers, who conduct the surveys because they can be paid cheaper thus making the surveys cheaper overall, do not speak English very well or clearly and “their accents may make their spoken English difficult for local people to understand.”
Also, Kaipat said, local people are under the impression the surveys require a “yes” answer to the question about actively looking for work or their eligibility for food stamps will be revoked.
Fourth, some people counted as unemployed are in the process of moving to Guam, Hawaii or the U.S. mainland for work. And lastly, employment surveys disregard the traditional employment within the extended family structure that is a full time job itself, she said.
In the declaration, Kaipat shares details of the Employment Services website that was created in March, including the figure that since Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 6,886 jobs were posted on the site.
In November, the Labor Department increased its fees for business employers from $250 to $300 to help fund the new site and equipment that totaled $350,000.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Local
Saturday, December 06, 2008
'Labor does excellent job in detecting sponsorships'
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Department of Labor has been doing an excellent job in detecting sponsorship scams, according to Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat.
In her another interim progress report on the implementation of the controversial Public Law 15-108 (new labor reform law), Kaipat told the Legislature that Labor Director Barry Hirsbein is doing “an outstanding job” of finding sham sponsorships in the employers' applications that are submitted to Labor.
Kaipat said the director and his staff review 4,000 to 5,000 applications a month, and they identify about 300 to 400 questionable applications in an average quarter.
“Those applications are turned down, and some appealed,” she said.
The deputy secretary said they have also succeeded in reducing the number of alien workers in Temporary Work Authorization status.
Kaipat said they have done this by cleaning up all the pending cases from 2007 and prior years, and by instituting new rules for cases pending elsewhere.
“When workers file cases in federal or Commonwealth courts, the Labor Department asks for a court order if the worker is to be permitted to remain in the Commonwealth while out of status,” she said.
Kaipat said they allow alien workers who have cases with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Review Board, and U.S. Labor to obtain TWAs without any affirmative action from the adjudicating agency, but that they are considering changing that policy.
“The EEOC alone has more than 100 pending cases from the CNMI that were filed in 2006 and prior years and they have no estimate when they might reach these cases,” she pointed out.
Local
Saturday, December 06, 2008
'Labor does excellent job in detecting sponsorships'
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Department of Labor has been doing an excellent job in detecting sponsorship scams, according to Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat.
In her another interim progress report on the implementation of the controversial Public Law 15-108 (new labor reform law), Kaipat told the Legislature that Labor Director Barry Hirsbein is doing “an outstanding job” of finding sham sponsorships in the employers' applications that are submitted to Labor.
Kaipat said the director and his staff review 4,000 to 5,000 applications a month, and they identify about 300 to 400 questionable applications in an average quarter.
“Those applications are turned down, and some appealed,” she said.
The deputy secretary said they have also succeeded in reducing the number of alien workers in Temporary Work Authorization status.
Kaipat said they have done this by cleaning up all the pending cases from 2007 and prior years, and by instituting new rules for cases pending elsewhere.
“When workers file cases in federal or Commonwealth courts, the Labor Department asks for a court order if the worker is to be permitted to remain in the Commonwealth while out of status,” she said.
Kaipat said they allow alien workers who have cases with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Review Board, and U.S. Labor to obtain TWAs without any affirmative action from the adjudicating agency, but that they are considering changing that policy.
“The EEOC alone has more than 100 pending cases from the CNMI that were filed in 2006 and prior years and they have no estimate when they might reach these cases,” she pointed out.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Local
Monday, October 27, 2008
Garment Oversight Board finally closing Friday
Uncashed settlement checks to go to a Trust Fund
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Garment Oversight Board is closing this Friday, Oct. 31, and all the money coming from the class lawsuit settlement checks that the garment workers failed to cash will go to a Garment Workers Trust Fund, according to GOB chairman Timothy Bellas.
Bellas told Saipan Tribune that Friday is GOB's closing date therefore it will be the last day that the board will do anything with any of the settlement checks.
He said the proposal, however, is that they're going to continue the financial aspect until Dec. 31, 2008 to allow any of the checks that are still outstanding to be cleared.
Bellas said the uncashed money will then be transferred to a Garment Workers Trust Fund for a year and then after that the money will be given to a charity.
“We've tried extensively by asking the court to extend the term of GOB three times in order to get much of these money into the hands of the garment workers as we can,” he said.
The former judge said the GOB can only can go by the addresses of the workers that were given to them.
“We've had a lot of situation where the workers might be here but the addresses they gave us were back in China, or Philippines, Bangladesh,” he said.
Bellas said they sent the checks for the addresses that they have so the relatives of the workers sent the checks back to the workers here in the CNMI.
“So they come in and they say 'oh here's my check' and it's more than 60 days. So we've been re-issuing checks,” he said.
Bellas said every time GOB's term gets extended, its operation expenses continue.
“We're sort of using the money for operating expenses. And so we want to go ahead and use it for a good purpose of giving it to the workers or giving it to charity,” he added.
GOB was set up pursuant to the $20-million settlement agreement in the class action against CNMI's garment industry. It's purpose was to oversee the monitoring program of the garment industry.
Before the remaining settlement money was transferred to GOB last year, a company that was tasked to distribute the funds to some current and former garment workers informed the U.S. District Court for the NMI that it successfully mailed out almost 29,800 checks to individuals located in 17 countries.
The company said the total cash distribution represented by the checks is $2.3 million out of an initial net fund of $4 million.
In July 2008, GOB claimed it has sent 11,353 new checks and would be sending 1,031 more checks to some current and former garment workers.
The 12,384 checks are worth $1,599.495, GOB then reported.
On July 21, 2008, the federal court granted GOB's request for final extension of its term (Oct. 31, 2008) in order for the board account the last $1.6 million in checks.
Local
Monday, October 27, 2008
Garment Oversight Board finally closing Friday
Uncashed settlement checks to go to a Trust Fund
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Garment Oversight Board is closing this Friday, Oct. 31, and all the money coming from the class lawsuit settlement checks that the garment workers failed to cash will go to a Garment Workers Trust Fund, according to GOB chairman Timothy Bellas.
Bellas told Saipan Tribune that Friday is GOB's closing date therefore it will be the last day that the board will do anything with any of the settlement checks.
He said the proposal, however, is that they're going to continue the financial aspect until Dec. 31, 2008 to allow any of the checks that are still outstanding to be cleared.
Bellas said the uncashed money will then be transferred to a Garment Workers Trust Fund for a year and then after that the money will be given to a charity.
“We've tried extensively by asking the court to extend the term of GOB three times in order to get much of these money into the hands of the garment workers as we can,” he said.
The former judge said the GOB can only can go by the addresses of the workers that were given to them.
“We've had a lot of situation where the workers might be here but the addresses they gave us were back in China, or Philippines, Bangladesh,” he said.
Bellas said they sent the checks for the addresses that they have so the relatives of the workers sent the checks back to the workers here in the CNMI.
“So they come in and they say 'oh here's my check' and it's more than 60 days. So we've been re-issuing checks,” he said.
Bellas said every time GOB's term gets extended, its operation expenses continue.
“We're sort of using the money for operating expenses. And so we want to go ahead and use it for a good purpose of giving it to the workers or giving it to charity,” he added.
GOB was set up pursuant to the $20-million settlement agreement in the class action against CNMI's garment industry. It's purpose was to oversee the monitoring program of the garment industry.
Before the remaining settlement money was transferred to GOB last year, a company that was tasked to distribute the funds to some current and former garment workers informed the U.S. District Court for the NMI that it successfully mailed out almost 29,800 checks to individuals located in 17 countries.
The company said the total cash distribution represented by the checks is $2.3 million out of an initial net fund of $4 million.
In July 2008, GOB claimed it has sent 11,353 new checks and would be sending 1,031 more checks to some current and former garment workers.
The 12,384 checks are worth $1,599.495, GOB then reported.
On July 21, 2008, the federal court granted GOB's request for final extension of its term (Oct. 31, 2008) in order for the board account the last $1.6 million in checks.
Monday, October 27, 2008
LIIDS transferred to Labor
By Agnes E. Donato
Reporter
The Department of Labor will be responsible for the Commonwealth's labor database beginning Nov. 1, 2008, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial ordered recently.
Fitial, in an Oct. 17 executive order, transferred the CNMI's labor and immigration identification and documentation system from the Division of Immigration to the Labor Department. More commonly known as LIIDS section, the agency in charge of keeping track of guest workers in the CNMI will now be called the Employment Data Section.
Under the governor's order, the EDS will also maintain the border management system for the Division of Immigration for as long as the CNMI government is in control of local immigration functions. The border management system is an automated program that generates a record of all entries to and exits from the Commonwealth.
The governor said the transfer is done in the interest of efficient administration. He noted that the Labor Department recently upgraded its automated processing system and completed its interactive website. The new system is tightly integrated with the data collection and processing currently done by LIIDS.
“This is just internal reorganization effort. The governor believes it is more appropriate to put Labor in charge of the database, given its duties and responsibilities with respect to the foreign workers,” said press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr.
According to the executive order, all of LIIDS' equipment and data files will be transferred to the Employment Data Section. The supervisor of the LIIDS section will remain in charge of the new agency. All LIIDS personnel who can legally transfer to the Labor Department will also remain employed in their current positions.
The executive order also calls for the transfer of the LIIDS' budget allocation to the new section. However, it says the governor reserves the authority to make personnel-related decisions.
The U.S. federal government is required by law to take over the CNMI's immigration system on June 1, 2009.
LIIDS transferred to Labor
By Agnes E. Donato
Reporter
The Department of Labor will be responsible for the Commonwealth's labor database beginning Nov. 1, 2008, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial ordered recently.
Fitial, in an Oct. 17 executive order, transferred the CNMI's labor and immigration identification and documentation system from the Division of Immigration to the Labor Department. More commonly known as LIIDS section, the agency in charge of keeping track of guest workers in the CNMI will now be called the Employment Data Section.
Under the governor's order, the EDS will also maintain the border management system for the Division of Immigration for as long as the CNMI government is in control of local immigration functions. The border management system is an automated program that generates a record of all entries to and exits from the Commonwealth.
The governor said the transfer is done in the interest of efficient administration. He noted that the Labor Department recently upgraded its automated processing system and completed its interactive website. The new system is tightly integrated with the data collection and processing currently done by LIIDS.
“This is just internal reorganization effort. The governor believes it is more appropriate to put Labor in charge of the database, given its duties and responsibilities with respect to the foreign workers,” said press secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr.
According to the executive order, all of LIIDS' equipment and data files will be transferred to the Employment Data Section. The supervisor of the LIIDS section will remain in charge of the new agency. All LIIDS personnel who can legally transfer to the Labor Department will also remain employed in their current positions.
The executive order also calls for the transfer of the LIIDS' budget allocation to the new section. However, it says the governor reserves the authority to make personnel-related decisions.
The U.S. federal government is required by law to take over the CNMI's immigration system on June 1, 2009.
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)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Labor proposes amendments to employment rules, regulations
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Department of Labor is seeking public comments to its proposed amendments to current employment rules and regulations.
Labor filed the proposed rules and regulations to introduce changes to the current rules and regulations before the Commonwealth Registrar's Office.
According to Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas, the proposed revisions are intended to incorporate emergency regulations for the implementation of the federalization cap and the exclusion of unskilled workers.
In Labor's public notice, San Nicolas said the proposed revisions are also to renumber the regulations to conform with the numbering system adopted for the NMI Administrative Code.
The other goal, he said, is to incorporate new practices brought about by the implementation of the automated processing system and interactive website that are now integral parts of Labor.
Labor says the proposed rules and regulations are promulgated due to the following reasons:
- To implement the changes that have arisen because Labor has changed its procedures as it brought its new automated processing online and covered certain operations to its new interactive website.
- In response to requests that certain revisions should be made from participants in the community meetings that Labor convened to discuss the first six months of operation under the new labor law.
Anyone who wishes to provide comments to the proposed rules and regulations may send their comments to Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat at DepSec2@gmail.com with the subject line “New ERAR”.
Comments are due within 30 days from Sept. 25, 2008, which is the date of publication of the notice.
Labor proposes amendments to employment rules, regulations
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Department of Labor is seeking public comments to its proposed amendments to current employment rules and regulations.
Labor filed the proposed rules and regulations to introduce changes to the current rules and regulations before the Commonwealth Registrar's Office.
According to Labor Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas, the proposed revisions are intended to incorporate emergency regulations for the implementation of the federalization cap and the exclusion of unskilled workers.
In Labor's public notice, San Nicolas said the proposed revisions are also to renumber the regulations to conform with the numbering system adopted for the NMI Administrative Code.
The other goal, he said, is to incorporate new practices brought about by the implementation of the automated processing system and interactive website that are now integral parts of Labor.
Labor says the proposed rules and regulations are promulgated due to the following reasons:
- To implement the changes that have arisen because Labor has changed its procedures as it brought its new automated processing online and covered certain operations to its new interactive website.
- In response to requests that certain revisions should be made from participants in the community meetings that Labor convened to discuss the first six months of operation under the new labor law.
Anyone who wishes to provide comments to the proposed rules and regulations may send their comments to Labor Deputy Secretary Cinta M. Kaipat at DepSec2@gmail.com with the subject line “New ERAR”.
Comments are due within 30 days from Sept. 25, 2008, which is the date of publication of the notice.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Kaipat says dialogues continue on new labor regs
Thursday, 11 September 2008 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Variety News Staff
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DEPUTY Labor Secretary Cinta Kaipat says she finds some of the implementating regulations for the new labor law, P.L. 15-108, to be working well while others need to be improved.
Kaipat said the concerns raised during the recently held dialogues were “valid” and “well articulated.”
The Department of Labor, she added, will come up with a “compromise” and make the necessary changes to improve the law’s implementing regulations and make them “more workable” especially for the guest workers and their employers.
“We would improve the law to the best that we can for the betterment of the community,” Kaipat told Variety, adding that the dialogues with the different sectors of the community will continue.
Initially, she said, they collected “good” feedback from the community members who are directly affected by the law.
During the two scheduled dialogues last week, the department met with members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, lawyers representing guest workers, the federal labor ombudsman and representatives of various organizations.
Kaipat said they have a “very fruitful meeting” with the participants, some of whom were concerned about the 30-day transfer rule that allows displaced guest workers to seek new employment.
Other issues raised include the 20 percent requirement for local employment and the immigration status of spouses of Freely Associated States citizens.
Guest workers, Kaipat said, said the 30-day period is too short considering the lengthy process of registering with the Division of Employment Services and the evaluation of the transfer applications.
Under the Nonresident Workers Act and its implementating regulations, “complainants are granted transfer if they are found to be less at fault than their employers with respect to the issue that gave rise to the filing of the complaint.”
But if a complainant fails to have an employer intent form filed within the 30-day period, he or she will be required to depart from the CNMI at the expense of his or her latest employer.
Representatives of guest workers asked the department to “compromise” on the 30-day period, Kaipat said, adding that they have yet to gather all the suggestions and recommendations on how to improve P.L. 15-108.
“Our goal is to listen and see what ideas they will have to suggest ways that we can improve the regulations,” she said.
There’s no scheduled dialogue this week but the department will continue to gather comments so it can evaluate to determine what initiatives are workable before Labor drafts a final report and submit it to the Legislature, Kaipat said.
“I don’t want P.L. 15-108 to become like its predecessors which were amended piece meal, left and right, to the point where loopholes were created because different components did not fit together,” she said. “What we would do is to give it flexibility to make it better serve the needs of the community.”
Thursday, 11 September 2008 00:00 By Junhan B. Todeno - Variety News Staff
E-mail Print PDF
DEPUTY Labor Secretary Cinta Kaipat says she finds some of the implementating regulations for the new labor law, P.L. 15-108, to be working well while others need to be improved.
Kaipat said the concerns raised during the recently held dialogues were “valid” and “well articulated.”
The Department of Labor, she added, will come up with a “compromise” and make the necessary changes to improve the law’s implementing regulations and make them “more workable” especially for the guest workers and their employers.
“We would improve the law to the best that we can for the betterment of the community,” Kaipat told Variety, adding that the dialogues with the different sectors of the community will continue.
Initially, she said, they collected “good” feedback from the community members who are directly affected by the law.
During the two scheduled dialogues last week, the department met with members of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, lawyers representing guest workers, the federal labor ombudsman and representatives of various organizations.
Kaipat said they have a “very fruitful meeting” with the participants, some of whom were concerned about the 30-day transfer rule that allows displaced guest workers to seek new employment.
Other issues raised include the 20 percent requirement for local employment and the immigration status of spouses of Freely Associated States citizens.
Guest workers, Kaipat said, said the 30-day period is too short considering the lengthy process of registering with the Division of Employment Services and the evaluation of the transfer applications.
Under the Nonresident Workers Act and its implementating regulations, “complainants are granted transfer if they are found to be less at fault than their employers with respect to the issue that gave rise to the filing of the complaint.”
But if a complainant fails to have an employer intent form filed within the 30-day period, he or she will be required to depart from the CNMI at the expense of his or her latest employer.
Representatives of guest workers asked the department to “compromise” on the 30-day period, Kaipat said, adding that they have yet to gather all the suggestions and recommendations on how to improve P.L. 15-108.
“Our goal is to listen and see what ideas they will have to suggest ways that we can improve the regulations,” she said.
There’s no scheduled dialogue this week but the department will continue to gather comments so it can evaluate to determine what initiatives are workable before Labor drafts a final report and submit it to the Legislature, Kaipat said.
“I don’t want P.L. 15-108 to become like its predecessors which were amended piece meal, left and right, to the point where loopholes were created because different components did not fit together,” she said. “What we would do is to give it flexibility to make it better serve the needs of the community.”
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