Siemer answers alien workers’ class suit

The Superior Court has no jurisdiction over the class action filed by 127 alien workers against the Department of Labor and its top officials because the case fails to meet the requirements for a class lawsuit, according to attorney Deanne Siemer.

Siemer, as special counsel for Labor, asserted that there is no commonality of status among the individual plaintiffs or the bonding companies.

There is also no commonality of the defenses that might be raised by the bonding companies to payment under the bonds, said Siemer in Labor’s and its officials’ response to the class action.

The class action was filed against Labor, its Secretary Gil M. San Nicolas, Deputy Secretary Cinta Kaipat, and Labor Director Barry Hirshbein.

The class action also named as co-defendants 20 unnamed surety or bonding or insurance companies that issued surety labor bonds to the employers of the plaintiffs.

On behalf of the 127 workers who have unpaid wages and other damages pursuant to Labor administrative orders, attorney Robert Myers asked the Superior Court to force Labor and its co-defendants to enforce the surety’s obligations under the statutory labor bonds.

Myers asked the court to immediately order Labor to collect all surety bonds issued by the surety or insurance companies that were delivered to the Labor director, naming Labor as the obligee on the bonds.

The total proceeds of the labor bonds involved in the class action amounts to $557,977, according to Myers.

In the defendants’ answer, Siemer said the plaintiffs named in the complaint could not constitute a class that would allow them to file a class action under CNMI laws or the rules of the court.

Siemer denied that the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007 provides that Labor is responsible for collection of awards made in the administrative orders that Labor issues in cases filed by alien workers against employers.

Siemer denied that the Nonresident Workers Act and its predecessors have any force and effect as they were repealed by the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007.

She also denied that the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007 requires Labor to issue any notice of claim to any bonding company.

Under the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007, the special counsel said, Labor has no power to act against bonding companies.

Licensing and regulatory authority, she pointed out, is vested in the Department of Commerce.

Since Jan. 1, 2008, Siemer said, Labor has operated under the Commonwealth Employment Act of 2007.

Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman set a status conference on the lawsuit for Jan. 29 at 1:30pm.