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Labor orders probe vs employer
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Posted on Sep 03 2004
The Department of Labor hearing office has ordered a probe against an employer who abandoned an employee after filing a permit application for him.
Hearing officer Herbert D. Soll said J.S. Pacific Corp. should be investigated for its “suspect activities.” Soll ordered that the investigation be joined with other pending complaints against J.S. Pacific.
Records showed that worker Jin Zhenhao had completed his contract with a local garment manufacturer, and sought to change his employer within the allotted 45-day period.
J.S. Pacific, with the participation of an agent, eventually filed an application for Jin Zhenhao. But the application was defective—it did not contain most of the required supporting documents.
The employer failed to correct the deficiencies, prompting the Division of Labor to deny the work permit application on July 14, 2004. After seven days, Jin Zhenhao appealed the decision of the Labor director.
At the hearing, the worker testified that both the agent and the employer departed for Korea within a few days of filing the application.
In an administrative order, Soll affirmed the Labor director’s move to deny the application. “The absence of the employer and his failure to respond to notification from the department [leaves] in doubt his intention to conduct future business in the Commonwealth,” he said.
He, however, granted Jin Zhenhao a temporary work authorization to allow him to work while his employer is being investigated. (Agnes E. Donato)
