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Firm barred from hiring alien workers
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Posted on Nov 19 2004
The corporate officers of a defunct karaoke club were barred from hiring alien workers in the Commonwealth after they closed the business without informing a nonresident employee and the Labor Department.
Labor hearing officer Herbert Soll also ordered Long Green Inc., which did business as Beijing Karaoke Club, as well as its three corporate officers to settle the unpaid wages of worker Zheng Yunan and provide her with a return air ticket to Shenyang, China.
Further, Soll said the corporation and the three officers—Li Wei, Li Tong, and Lu Han—should be fined $2,000 each for breaching their contract with the worker. The monetary sanction will be suspended only if they pay the worker’s wages and give her a plane ticket before Dec. 15.
Records showed that Long Green Inc. filed an employment application for worker Zheng Yunan sometime in 1999 or early 2000. Then, the corporation closed their business before the employee had the opportunity to work and without notice to the employee.
“The corporation and its officers abandoned Zheng Yunan in January 2000 by failing to provide her work or give her notice of the impending business closure so that she could seek a transfer. Further, they failed to notify the Department of Labor of the closure of their business and the status of their employees,” Soll noted.
He said the corporation and its officers are indebted to the employee for three months wages, amounting to $1,586. Soll said three months is a reasonable time for her to transfer to another employer.
Zheng Yunan was not allowed to seek a new employer, as it was found that she has been without a passport for a number of years. “Without a valid passport she is not eligible to transfer. A new contract will require her to have a valid passport,” Soll explained.
Instead, Soll ordered Zheng Yunan to return to Shenyang, China within 30 days at the expense of Long Green Inc.
