Labor sanctions company with $2K fine

For not calling U.S. citizen or permanent resident applicants for commercial cleaner and teller positions at RNV Construction, the Department of Labor sanctioned the company with a $2,000 fine, saying the action is bad faith hiring practices.

Labor hearing officer Jerry Cody ordered RJCL Corp., owner of RNV Construction, to post all future job vacancies and job renewals on Labor’s website.

When asked for comments about the order, RJCL general manager Lito Villacrusis said he could not understand why employers are being required to call the applicants when the latter are the ones looking for jobs. He said if the applicants are really interested, they should go to their office.

Cody ordered RJCL Corp. to consider all responses posted on the website and to file its “declaration” describing its action taken, for review by Labor Citizen Job Placement Section.

“Furthermore, [RJCL] shall hire such online U.S. citizen and permanent resident applicants when they are qualified and available to work,” he said.

The hearing officer warned RJCL that it will be subjected to further monetary sanctions if it fails to comply with the order.

Cody said it was established at a Labor compliance agency case hearing on March 19 that RJCL posted vacancy notices on Labor’s website for several job positions in December 2013. The positions were for a bookkeeper, construction workers, commercial cleaners, and tellers.

For the bookkeeper post, one applied; for two construction workers, three applied; for three commercial cleaners, six applied; and for two teller positions, five applied. Cody said RJCL did not submit a declaration, or digital response, to any of the applicants.

Labor Enforcement then filed the agency case, charging RJCL with violating the employer declaration regulation and requesting the hearing officer to assess the $2,000 fine.

At the hearing, Cody said, Villacrusis admitted that his company had not filed an employer declaration with Labor about those job applicants who responded to the job vacancies. Villacrusis reportedly stated that he had not known that any response was required.

He said Villacrusis stated that he had delegated the task of reviewing job applicants to his bookkeeping staff and that he had no further knowledge of the matter.

Cody said the employer’s bookkeepers simply “waited” for the applicants to contact the company; they did not attempt to call the applicants using the phone numbers listed on the website posting.

Cody said under Commonwealth law, every employer is required to make good faith efforts to recruit qualified U.S. workers, U.S. permanent residents, and CNMI permanent residents. (Ferdie de la Torre)