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Local worker status for refugees?
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Posted on Jan 26 2005
Refugees in the Commonwealth will be given employment status similar to that enjoyed by resident workers, according to a regulation proposed by the Department of Labor.
Kevin Lynch, legal counsel for Labor, said the regulation regarding the employment status of refugees is being promulgated in accordance to Article 17 of the 1967 United States Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
The CNMI’s Covenant with the United States requires the Commonwealth to international conventions and treaties where the United States is a signatory.
“This regulation makes Commonwealth law consistent with the U.N. treaty,” said Lynch.
The regulation will apply to all persons who have been granted refugee status as a result of federal or Commonwealth law or regulation in implementing the 1967 U.N. Protocol.
Under the rule, they will be permitted “to engage in wage earning employment to the same extent and the same manner as a ‘resident worker’ as that term is defined in 3 CMC §4412 (n).”
The Commonwealth Code defines ‘resident worker’ as any available individual who is capable of performing services or labor desired by an employer and who is a U.S. citizen or national.
“The regulation basically states that refugees do not have to have an employment situation that’s approved by the Director of Labor. They are able to go and market their talent and ability like a resident worker. They do not have to have a one-year contract and they do not have to go through the formalities of getting a work permit,” Lynch explained.
Submitted by Labor Secretary Joaquin Tenorio, the proposed regulation appears in the latest issue of the Commonwealth Register. The proposal will be subject to a 30-day public comment period before it will be adopted as a permanent regulation.
Last September, the Attorney General’s Office adopted regulations on persons seeking refugee protection.
The regulations aim to implement the P.L. 13-61, which requires the AGO to promulgate rules and regulations enforcing the U.N. Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
