Worker sent home for missing transfer deadline

The Department of Labor ordered a nonresident worker to depart the Commonwealth after he missed the deadline to transfer to a new employer by almost a month.

Worker Wenxie Liu was given 20 days to leave the CNMI. His name would be forwarded to the Division of Immigration for possible deportation proceedings if he fails to leave within the given period.

Labor records show that Wenxie Liu’s former labor permit as commercial cleaner for Global Enterprises Inc., doing business as Diamond Ice and Water, had expired on Sept. 13, 2004.

However, his employer served him a notice of intention not to renew the contract on July 23, 2004, 52 days before the contract expiration. This notice, served more than the required 30 days before contract expiration, left Wenxiu Liu with 15 days to find a new employer.

Accordingly, the transfer period closed on Sept. 28, 2004. No work permit application was filed for Wenxiu Liu until Oct. 25, 2004.

For late filing and failure to show financial solvency, the Labor department denied the application filed by Pacific Jun’s Corp. on Dec. 9, 2004. The appeal followed.

At the hearing, Wenxiu Liu testified that he refused to sign the non-renewal notice given to him by his former employer, as he did not know exactly what that letter meant or implied, hearing officer Maya Kara related.

Kara said the worker acknowledged, however, that he understood that he would not be renewed and that he was further verbally informed by his employer that he would not be renewed more than 30 days before the contract expiration.

Also at the hearing, it was established that Wenxiu Liu had been working in the CNMI for eight years as a commercial cleaner.

Although the business of Pacific Jun’s Corp. is auto repair, the employer said it wished to employ the worker as a commercial cleaner. This prompted questions as to whether the hiring is justified.

“[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 27 days,” Kara said.

As to issue regarding the employer’s financial solvency, Kara said the employer had cured the deficiency by presenting a bank certification in excess of the required amount. “This cure, however, is moot in light of my finding with respect to the late filing,” she added.

Kara ordered Wenxiu Liu’s former employer, Global Enterprises Inc., to provide an airline ticket for the worker’s repatriation. (Agnes E. Donato)