‘Employers should consult local Labor’

Matt Deleon Guerrero discusses the process of gathering information from employers in the ongoing prevailing wage survey during yesterday’s Society of Human Resources Management meeting at Pacific Islands Club-Saipan’s Charley’s Cabaret. (Jon Perez)

To avoid confusion, the CNMI Department of Labor is advising all employers to simply approach it if they have questions or other things that they want to clarify about the new policies in submitting for petitions for CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1 visa)—either renewals or new hires.
This was the advice of Eugene Tebuteb, director of the Employment Services Division of the CNMI Department of Labor, to all employers, whether they are small or big business, to avoid confusion on how to file the CW1 petitions and to better understand the federal Labor Department’s interim final rule.

The IFR was released late last month and took effect on April 4.

“I recommend that, if employers have questions, refer it to us at CNMI Labor. We are working closely with the U.S. Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security on this,” Tebuteb told Saipan Tribune after yesterday’s meeting of the NMI Chapter of the Society for Human Resources Management at PIC-Saipan’s Charley’s Cabaret.

“In fact, we have regular conference calls with them [U.S. DOL and DHS],” said Tebuteb, who added that they could also forward the questions to DOL and DHS officials and get back to them once answers have been provided.

The IFR for temporary employment requires employers when they submit their CW-1 petitions to obtain a prevailing CNMI wage for the position and a temporary labor certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor.

SHRM NMI Chapter president Catherine J. Cachero also advised employers to analyze their situation before submitting the petitions for their foreign workers. “Every employer needs to consider their needs and do their analysis on who their critical employees are.”

Tebuteb said the local Labor Department had already prepared even before the IFR was implemented, that the changes on how to petition for foreign workers will take effect today and they expect only minor problems. “Our Web administrator has done everything that we needed to do to modify our website….”

“Keep in mind, we’re still in a testing environment. We’re going to probably experience things that we need to figure out and settle but, once it is effective tomorrow, you can actually start posting your [job vacancy announcements].”
 
Information campaign

Tebuteb reminded employers that the CNMI Department of Labor will hold a community outreach event on May 21 at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center from 9am to 3pm to further inform the community about ongoing issues with labor and employment.

“All the divisions within the department will describe all their roles, responsibilities, and duties, and explain the [interim final rule] that has just been implemented,” said Tebuteb.

SHRM will also have a separate seminar and workshop on May 9 and June 27 on personnel policies to make sure employers are compliant with CNMI and federal labor laws.
 
New PWS

Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp. president Alex Sablan said they and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce are assisting in the prevailing wage survey.

The current PW would no longer be used since it was taken not within this year. “So, we needed to conduct a PWS to capture the wages in this particular calendar year,” Sablan said.

“We are thankful for the [CNMI] Department of Commerce, Labor, and the Governor’s Office for always being there to assist us,” he said. “[The Commerce Department] is conducting the survey.”

He assured that the Chamber, of which he is a board member, has nothing to do with the survey information.

“You may have seen the PWS, the online version, and the email information is going to the DOC’s Central Statistics Division. We [SCC] get nothing,” added Sablan.

He said that they began the process of determining the prevailing wage as soon as they came back from Washington D.C. early this year. “When we came back, we quickly martialed our resources,” he added.

Sablan said Matt Deleon Guerrero had been helpful in getting things up and running as quickly as possible in sifting through the methodology and discussions with the federal Labor Department. “To make it as efficient as possible.”

He added that it usually takes four to six months to conduct and compile a PWS and the CNMI is trying to do it in seven weeks.

He said the NMBAC is thankful to the U.S. Labor Department for accepting the process they have been doing as they try to speed up things in getting all the information available.

“We are going to send follow up letters to U.S. Labor asking them to please approve the survey that was conducted as we complete this process. So come April 22, as we populate the numbers and get them to U.S. Labor, we’re going to put them on their timeline on the 21 days that was promised to accomplish the process.”