Man ordered to leave the Commonwealth

A man was recently ordered by the Department of Labor to leave the Commonwealth and return to his country of origin after it was found out that, besides submitting his transfer application late, he had been unemployed for four months already and had no excuse for the delay in the filing of his application.

In an administrative order issued Tuesday, Hearing Officer Maya B. Kara gave nonresident worker Ricardo J. Amog 30 days to leave the Commonwealth at the expense of Amog’s former employer, Sablan Construction Co.

Kara indicated that if Amog fails to leave within the 30-day period, his name would be forwarded to the Division of Immigration under the Office of the Attorney General for possible deportation proceedings.

Through a separate order last year, Amog was given 45 days to find a new employer beginning Aug. 30, 2004. The order expired on Oct. 14 but Amog’s transfer application was not filed until Oct. 18, resulting in the department denying the application. An appeal followed and a hearing was held on Feb. 3, 2005.

At the hearing, it was established that the employer, Sapphire Enterprises Inc., wanted to hire Amog as a construction worker. The company engages in business involving construction, beauty parlor, and wholesale.

The employer’s representative said the business had only one employee and that she is the operations manager and the owner, a U.S. citizen, is her mother.

Meanwhile, Amog testified that he only applied for a job with Sapphire on Oct. 18, the day the permit application was submitted. He acknowledged that he had seen the previous administrative order that gave him just 45 days to transfer, understood its contents, and knew he was outside of the transfer period when he applied at Sapphire for work.

Kara also noted that Amog was already unemployed for four months before the transfer.

“Employee offered no excuse for the delay in filing the application, ”Kara said.

“I do not find that an equitable extension is warranted in this instance,” Kara said. “Employee’s inaction in face of the pending deadline, in addition to the four prior months when he could have been seeking a potential employer, does not warrant an equitable extension.”

Further, Kara said there is also a strong appearance of sponsorship arrangement with Sapphire rather than of legitimate employment, citing the very low number of workers for three separate businesses and a close family relationship between the owner and the employee.

“In these circumstances, I do not find the potential for legitimate employment likely,” she said, as she affirmed the department’s earlier decision to deny the application.

Kara also ordered that the director of Labor assist with the collection of the airline repatriation ticket from Sablan Construction Co., which is given 10 days after receiving demand for the ticket to provide it to the Labor director.