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EEOC opens toll free line for NMI
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Posted on May 29 2004
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday a toll free number for residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Starting Friday, dialing (866) 247-6904 will connect CNMI callers to EEOC’s Honolulu Local Office free of charge.
“We really needed this toll free number to serve the CNMI, and important part of our district,” said district director Joan Ehrlich. “The workforce here is extremely vulnerable to mistreatment and EEOC is here to protect them and to remedy any bias problems in the workplace.”
“We urge workers who face unequal treatment, harassment, retaliation or any other kind of discrimination to come forward and talk to us about it. We will do whatever is within our power to correct it. We also invite employers to call us for training and advice. We have excellent information for the public on our website at www.eeoc.gov, she added.”
People calling from Guam, Hawaii and the U.S. mainland have been able to utilize the free number (800) 669-4000 to be connected to the nearest EEOC office. However, due to technical difficulties, this toll free number was not functional for CNMI callers. By establishing the number (866) 247-6904 for Commonwealth callers, this problem has now been solved.
“We receive about 100 charges per year from people who live in the CNMI,” said EEOC’s Honolulu local director Timothy Riera. “Prior to this, people without access to a telephone would have to go to the Department of Interior’s Ombudsman Office in order to call us.”
