Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

ESA Press Release: Crackdown on Labor Law Violations in Saipan Results in $2.1 Million in Back Wages [01/20/1999]

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The U.S. Department of Labor recovered more than $2.1 million for 1,315 Saipan workers last year in its crackdown on labor violations in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Many employers in the islands, located in the Pacific Ocean just north of Guam, depend on cheap labor from other countries such as China and the Phillipines.

The money was recovered in four major cases in which the companies also agreed to comply with labor laws.

"We must stop the exploitation of workers on these islands," Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman said. "We will continue to hold employers accountable and will work to get U.S. minimum wage and immigration laws extended to the Northern Marianas."

The commonwealth is a U.S. territory consisting of six islands, the largest and most well known of which is Saipan. The child labor, overtime pay and record keeping provisions of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act apply to employers on the islands but under the existing covenant the island government sets its own minimum wage, which is $3.05 per hour.

Secretary Herman pointed to the four overtime pay cases resolved with employers on Saipan between April and December of last year as examples of the department's stepped up enforcement:

-- US-CNMI Development Corp. is paying $1,137,688 in back wages to 319 workers at its garment factory and $107,169 to 12 employees of Hai Ji Enterprises, Inc., a subcontractor.

-- Mariana Star Corp., a construction company, is paying $70,000 to 11 workers.

-- Micronesian Garment Manufacturing, Inc., operator of the MGM garment factory, is paying $560,000 to 427 workers.

-- Top Fashion Corp., another garment manufacturer, is paying $256,203 to 546 workers.

Herman also cited the department's success in obtaining written agreements with these companies, either through court ordered consent decrees or negotiated settlements, which require them to comply with labor laws and stop certain practices which violate the workers' rights. Such practices include requiring workers to work "off the clock," confining them to living quarters without paying them for that time, requiring them to clean barracks and not paying them, deducting from their wages fees connected with their recruitment or for tools and medical fees and charging excessive fees for room and board.

In its agreement, US-CNMI Development Corp. is committed to monitor its compliance and its subcontractors' compliance with U.S. labor laws.

In addition to these cases, the Labor Department in the last two years collected more than $1 million in back wages for more than 3,000 employees in the garment, hospitality, security guard and construction industries. This includes $600,000 for employees of Japan Enterprises, a chain of three nightclubs. The federal district court ruled that the employees should be paid for an additional 49 hours per week for time they were confined to their living quarters.

Labor Department representatives are participating this week in training on labor law compliance sponsored by Business for Social Responsibility and the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association. The department also has increased its efforts to provide information about labor laws to businesses there.

The "Fourth Annual Report of the Federal-CNMI Initiative on Labor, Immigration and Law Enforcement," issued Dec. 31, details progress on improving conditions for workers in the Marianas and recommends extending U.S. immigration and minimum wage laws to the islands.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.