Labor suit deemed frivolous

A man’s labor case against a restaurant in Garapan has been deemed both frivolous and devoid of merit by the CNMI Department of Labor’s administrative hearing office.

Zaji O. Zajradhara had complained that Nippon General Trading Corp. dba Country House Restaurant, represented by lawyer Mark Scoggins and general manager Katsuko Kato, had rejected his job application with the company in retaliation for a previous legal issue between them.

The CNMI Department of Labor Administrative Hearing Office deemed Zajradhara’s complaint frivolous and devoid of merit and granted the company’s motion for sanctions and be awarded attorney fees.

Zajradhara filed the complaint on April 29, 2019, on the grounds of a violation of the CNMI employment preference statute and retaliation. He alleged that he was entitled to damages because he was not hired and was being retaliated for filing both local and federal claims against the company.

On May 29, 2019, Zajradhara filed additional information stating that he was qualified for the waiter position he applied for in January 2019; was never interviewed; and alleged that the company instead hired a foreign worker.

On June 12, 2019, the company claimed that Zajradhara was not legitimately looking for a job; files only to harass, coerce, and extort monetary settlement; has fraudulent claims; has failed to mitigate damages; and fails to state a claim because a foreign worker was not hired for the position.

Zajradhara said he saw the job position in January 2019 at the CNMI Department of Labor website. He said he applied for the position believing that he was qualified since he had previous wait staff experience and was also a U.S. citizen. He said he did not follow up to see when the company would interview him due to previous legal issues with the company. He said he was never called for interview and that, based on information and belief, he alleged that the company hired a foreign worker for the position since the job vacancy announcement stated it was for a renewal.

The company argued that the company rejected Zajradhara’s application with just cause. The company noted that Zajradhara submitted a resume with inaccuracies and misrepresentations, giving rise to concerns about his honesty and integrity. The company further noted that the bar and a school that Zajradhara claimed to have worked for was an apartment building.

Zajradhara previously also litigated this issue, also with the same company in Labor Case 17-018, which concluded March 19, 2019. On appeal, the CNMI secretary of Labor found that the dismissal was appropriate and just cause for his rejection existed.

Further, the company noted that they were unable to hire a foreign worker due to the new requirements under federal regulations disallowed them to re-advertise the position until certain federal requirements were met. As a result, the company did not hire a foreign worker with respect to the associated JVA.