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AGO, Labor adopt new procedure for hiring alien workers
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Posted on Feb 27 2005
Employers seeking to hire an alien worker in the Commonwealth are now required to secure the approval of both the CNMI Labor and the alien’s government.
This came following the adoption of new, permanent rules enforcing agreements signed by the CNMI government with China, administered by the CNMI Chinese Economic Development Association and the Philippines, as administered by the Philippine Consul General’s Office, to tighten procedures for the hiring of alien workers.
Under the new policy, the Division of Immigration Services will not issue an authorization to board and the Labor Department an authorization of entry for an alien worker unless his or her employment contract has been certified as approved by the foreign government.
The regulations were adopted on an emergency basis and took effect last month.
After subjecting the rules to the mandatory 30-day public comment period, the Department of Labor and the Attorney General’s Office decided to adopt the regulations on a permanent basis.
“We…certify that…the regulations…previously proposed… after the expiration of the time for public comment, have been finally adopted without modification,” said Labor Secretary Joaquin A. Tenorio and attorney general Pamela Brown, who promulgated the rules.
In a public notice issued last month, Brown and then acting Labor Secretary Dean O. Tenorio highlighted the need for the new procedure.
“[Public] interest requires that the hiring of alien workers from abroad be conducted with the participation of agencies approved to engage in such activities by the country of origin of the prospective employers. This procedure minimizes fraud in the hiring process, assures the skill level of the alien worker, reduces recruiting abuses, and builds accountability in the hiring process,” they said. (Agnes E. Donato)
