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Labor reverses denial of worker’s permit
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Posted on Jan 14 2005
The Department of Labor’s Hearing Office recently ordered that the labor permit application for a nonresident worker be processed after the worker appealed an earlier denial issued by the director.
Hearing officer Jerry Cody, however, ruled that the application be processed only after the worker’s employer pays the fine imposed on her. The employer, Mengrang Haruo, is required to pay $150 for filing the application late.
The worker, Diana G. Eligado, previously worked on Rota before her work permit expired on Aug. 26, 2004. Eligado was allowed 45 days to transfer to another employer. She managed to do this but her application was filed by her employer five days after the deadline, Oct. 10, 2004.
At a hearing, Haruo explained that she offered the job to Eligado in September 2004. She, however, withheld from filing the application because she had not yet obtained the worker’s prior permit from the previous employer in Rota, Bonabe Maratita.
Haruo finally obtained the permit and filed it.
Cody determined that Haruo “made a good faith effort” to file on time but made the mistake was of waiting for a missing document before filing the application.
Cody explained that a better practice would have been for Haruo to file the incomplete application on time, then submit the missing documents within the 10-day period allowed to correct deficiencies.
Cody cited that, since Haruo’s failure to meet the deadline was not willing and that the deadline was missed by just a couple of days, the earlier denial would be reversed.
Haruo must pay the fine within 10 days of the order, or by Jan. 17, 2005. Failure to do so would result in the denial of the permit and further sanctions, which would be determined in a subsequent hearing.
