Governor not swayed by EEOC ruling

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday said he has tossed to the Attorney General’s Office for review the legality of the mandatory health screening for guest workers after the US Equal Employment Opportunity Community ruled that it violated federal laws.

The governor appeared undaunted by the EEOC decision that could set off similar complaints, saying that medical requirements will stay to protect the community.

“We’re looking into it…but of course we also have a responsibility to protect our people,” Tenorio said.

The regulation was put in place by the Department of Public Health early this year due to mounting complaints from the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control over the alarming rise in cases of tuberculosis and sexually-transmitted diseases in the Northern Marianas largely blamed on foreign workers. CDC particularly noted the sharp increase in TB which grew 10 times greater than the rate in mainland in a span of 12 months.

Under the expanded health screening, all non-resident workers, regardless of employment category, are required to undergo chest X-ray as well as HIV and syphilis tests.

Two hotel employees have challenged the legality of the requirement to subject them to HIV test, which they said a violation of the disabilities act because the test was not job-related. They also questioned the manner in which the results were announced since health certificates were publicly posted in their company premises.

In one case, EEOC said Dai-Ichi Hotel and the commonwealth government violated the disabilities act, which prohibits employers from inquiring on employees disability-related injuries unless it is relevant to their jobs.

EEOC ruled in the Cornejo case against Dai-Ichi that being HIV positive was irrelevant to the employee’s job. It also noted that the employer violated federal laws when it publicly posted medical results that should have been kept confidential.

In a separate case, EEOC has obtained a restraining order from the District Court stopping Saipan Grand Hotel from not renewing the contract of an employee who had questioned the requirement in the federal agency. The hotel worker claimed his employment contract was not renewed because of the complaint he filed with the EEOC in connection with the HIV test.