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Labor’s criteria in rejecting employment application
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Posted on Jul 04 2008
[B]Q: A worker believes his or her employer violated Labor violations with respect to his or her contract. When should that worker file a complaint before the Department of Labor?[/B]
[B]Q: What are the factors that Labor considers as “just cause” in rejecting an application for employment?[/B]
A: The new Alien Labor Rules and Regulations state that no complaint may be filed more than six months after the date of the last-occurring event that is the subject of the complaint. The exceptions however, are cases where the actionable conduct was not discoverable upon the last-occurring event. In such instance, no complaint may be filed more than six months after the date a complainant of reasonable diligence could have discovered the actionable conduct.
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A: The “just cause” includes all of the lawful criteria that an employer normally applies in making hiring decisions. These criteria include “rejecting persons with criminal records for positions of trust, rejecting persons without an educational degree necessary for the position, rejecting persons with no favorable recommendation from prior employment, rejecting persons with an employment history indicating an inability to perform the job successfully, rejecting persons with an educational background making it unlikely that the necessary education or training to hold the position could be accomplished successfully with a reasonable time, and similar just causes.”
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[B]Q: Can a Labor hearing officer impose a $3,000 fine on an employer?[/B]A: The Regulations state that a hearing officer is authorized to levy a fine not to exceed $2,000 for each violation by an employer.
A hearing officer is also authorized to award actual damages for any out-of-pocket costs attributed directly to the action of the employer in refusing employment and liquidated damages of up to six months wages if actual damages are uncertain or cannot be ascertained under a satisfactory or known rule. This, however, provided that “any damages award, no matter what components are included, cannot exceed six months’ wages for the job for which a citizen or permanent resident applied.”
[I]Disclaimer: Readers should conduct their own research and due diligence and obtain professional legal advice. Saipan Tribune will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader’s reliance on information obtained from this section. Submit questions on labor issues to SaipanTribune via e-mail at editor@saipantribune.com, or by calling 235-6397, 235-2440, or 235-8747 and leaving a message at Ext. 133 or 135. You may also submit questions in person by writing it down and dropping it off at the Saipan Tribune’s office on the second floor of the CIC Centre on Beach Road, Garapan.
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