‘Lack of language skill can’t be used vs resident workers’

The Department of Labor has reiterated that employers may not use language skill as a sole basis for disqualifying otherwise qualified resident applicants.

Labor hearing officer Cinta M. Kaipat said this, as she ordered Universal Group Development Inc. to offer a warehouse position to a resident applicant and to train that employee to eventually replace the alien worker currently holding the job.

On March 4, 2003, Universal Group filed a one-year renewal application following the expiration of employee Lu Ming’s contract.

The Labor Department reviewed the application on June 26, 2003 and ruled that Universal Group had not complied with the job vacancy announcement requirement of the application process.

Labor issued a deficiency notice the following day. The company, however, failed to cure the deficiency, prompting the department to deny the renewal application.

At the hearing, Universal Group explained that it was not able to comply with the deficiency notice because none of the resident employees referred by the Division of Employment Services qualified for the warehouse position.

The company said the resident applicants either lacked work experience as a warehouse worker or were unable to speak Chinese, the language spoken by most officials and employees in the company.

DES director Alfred Pangelinan contested this, saying that individuals referred for the job interview were deemed qualified for the warehouse position.

Pangelinan added that Universal Group may not use language as a basis for disqualifying a resident applicant.

In a four-page administrative order, Kaipat adopted DES’s findings.

“Universal Group must comply with the JVA requirements by hiring a resident applicant who shall be trained for the warehouse position. Hence, Universal Group must re-interview the applicants, or any other applicants referred by DES if the original applicants are no longer available, and must offer the warehouse position to one of the resident applicants interviewed,” Kaipat said.

At the same time, the hearing officer ordered the department to proceed with the processing of Lu’s renewal application for one year provided that he participates in the training of his replacement.

“Failure to comply fully with the terms of this administrative order shall result in a recommendation to the Department of Labor to initiate an agency investigation into Universal Group’s hiring practices, and possible imposition of appropriate sanctions,” Kaipat said.