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Most food stamp retailers complying with hiring law
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Posted on Dec 04 2008
The Department of Labor is making sure retail stores are complying with a regulation that says all establishments dealing with food stamps must employ at least one U.S. citizen.
The Division of Employment Services is in the process of inspecting 125 stores affected in the CNMI to check compliance, according to the Labor Department’s latest report on the implementation of Public Law 15-108.
So far, of the 107 stores on Saipan, 77 are compliant, three are not compliant and 27 have yet to be inspected. Two of the 11 stores affected on Rota are compliant while the other nine have not been inspected. On Tinian, the one store inspected so far has been found to be compliant while the other six have not been inspected. Altogether, of the 125 retail stores in the CNMI dealing with food stamps, 80 have been found to comply with the regulation, three have not complied and 42 have not been inspected, according to the Labor Department.
The regulation, which went into affect in June 2008, is aimed at opening more entry-level jobs for citizens.
According to the Department of Labor, if retail outlets do not comply by the end of the year the Director of Labor will cancel the permits for all foreign workers at the establishment.
