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Labor dismisses fraud allegation vs employer
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Posted on Oct 22 2004
Citing insufficient proof, the Department of Labor has dismissed a fraud allegation against an employer.
In an Oct. 8 order, hearing officer Jerry Cody said he found no sufficient evidence to support the Division of Labor’s allegation that Cui Star Corp. engaged in misrepresentation in its submission of work permit application materials.
Based on this finding, Cody reversed the division’s decision to deny the applications submitted by Cui Star to employ Cui Shan Ji as marketing manager and Cui Xin Shu as accountant for the company’s wholesale business, “Five Star Wholesale.”
Both workers reside in China and have not yet entered the CNMI.
On Sept. 8, 2004, the Labor division denied the applications based on the belief that Cui Star had engaged in misrepresentation by tampering the employee signatures on the nonresident worker affidavit and employment contract for each application.
The employer appealed the denial.
At the hearing, the division raised doubts concerning the authenticity of the signatures, based on a handwritten, scribbled signature on each affidavit and contract.
Cody said, however, that after hearing the testimony of the manager and processing agent for Cui Star, he believed that the employer “made a good faith effort to correct the contract” in response to a deficiency notice issued by the division.
The notice stated that the contract was not properly filled out.
According to Cody, some of the problems appear to stem from the inability of the employer to fully speak and understand English.
“Although the signatures on the supporting documents are not entirely clear, this may be explained by the fact that the workers do not normally write their names in English script,” the hearing officer added. “In any event the evidence is insufficient to establish fraud.”
Cody instructed the Labor division to resume processing the applications.
