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EEOC cites rise in worker complaints in CNMI
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Posted on Jul 29 2004
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported a significant increase in the number of discrimination complaints from the CNMI—from 102 cases for the entire fiscal year 2003 to 128 so far this year.
EEOC-Honolulu director Timothy A. Riera said complaints from CNMI workers now represent half of the overall number of cases filed with his office. Aside from the CNMI, the EEOC office in Honolulu covers Hawaii, Guam, and American Samoa.
“Certainly, it’s a concern, especially if you look at the population of the CNMI. We’ve seen a rise in charges from last year. It’s probably going to go higher than 128 since we’ve got another two months to go in the fiscal year. And we see now that it represents 50 percent of all the cases filed with the Honolulu office,” Riera noted.
Out of the 128 cases filed in FY 2004, 95 percent allege discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, national origin and disability.
About 80 percent of the cases involved worker termination, while 9.4 percent more involved intimidation.
Last year, allegations of discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, national origin, and disability represented 97 percent of the charges, Riera said.
More than half of workers who filed these cases claimed that they have been discriminated against because of their national origin, while 36 percent cited their sex as the reason.
About 45 of the bias complaints in FY 2003 involved termination; 26 percent, terms and conditions of contract; 22 percent, employment benefits; and 15 percent, hiring.
Sexual harassment complaints constituted 16 percent of the cases.
Riera also expressed concern about cases of retaliation in the CNMI. He said 31 percent of the workers who filed EEOC charges said their employers took action against them for complaining about discrimination or filing an EEOC case.
“Definitely, there are companies in the CNMI who we never see any charges filed from—or who, when a charge is filed, take immediate action to correct it. But there are other employers that we are concerned about,” Riera said.
He urged these employers to do more training and to put an equal employment opportunity program within their company.
