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Alien worker ordered to exit CNMI
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Posted on Feb 18 2005
The Department of Labor ordered a nonresident worker to leave the Northern Marianas after he stayed in the Commonwealth without a valid work status for 26 days.
Labor hearing officer Maya Kara, however, said that Conrado Millena will not be barred from returning to work in the CNMI if he voluntarily departs.
An employer, Mac US International, has indicated its willingness to hire Millena as a construction worker.
Records showed that Millena’s former labor permit as a farmer for Rosalina Q. Norita had expired on Sept. 11, 2004. Before the contract expiration, Norita served the employee with a notice of her intention not to renew the contract.
Labor regulations state that an employee, who has been served with such notice at least 30 days ahead, gets only 15 days from the contract expiration to transfer to a new employer.
Millena received Norita’s notice on Aug. 4, 2004, in excess of the 30 days required by regulation.
On Oct. 22, 2004, Mac US International filed an application to hire Millena. The Division of Labor, however, denied the application, as it was filed 26 days late.
Millena and his prospective employer appealed the division’s decision. Both parties said they believed that the usual 45-day transfer period following contract expiration applied to Millena’s case. They offered no other excuse for the delay in filing the application.
“Based on the evidence presented, I do not find that an equitable extension is warranted in this instance. Although the parties’ ignorance of the law is regrettable, it cannot stand as an excuse for exceeding the deadline, especially by 26 days,” Kara said in her administrative order.
She gave Millena 20 days to leave the Commonwealth. (Agnes E. Donato)
