By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

A FORMER Immigration captain can no longer hire foreign workers after he admitted to labor authorities that he engaged in a sponsorship relationship to allow a worker from the Philippines to get legal employment documents.
Labor Hearing Officer Barry Hirshbein also ordered Ramon Sablan to pay an administrative fine of $3,000.
If the fine is paid, Hirshbein recommended that the prohibition period be reduced to five years.
According to documents submitted to the Labor Department, Sablan attempted to hire Corazon Tacadena to be his houseworker.
The department denied Tacadena’s application on suspicion that she and her supposed employer were engaged in a sponsorship relationship — an agreement between the prospective employer and employee to make it appear that they have a bona fide employment relationship.
Labor Hearing Officer Barry Hirshbein said an investigation showed Tacadena only worked for Sablan for a week in August 2006 and was paid $40.
She paid her own processing fee, Sablan knowing this was illegal.
Despite this arrangement, she did not file a labor complaint because she was maintaining a small dressmaking shop with one employee.
“Mr. Sablan testified that he hired Ms. Tacadena because she begged him to hire her. Ms. Tacadena paid the filing fees. A true employment relationship was not contemplated by Mr. Sablan. Ms. Tacadena testified that she entered into the contract believing that she would be a full-time employee. [But her] position is not supported by facts,” said Hirshbein.
“Mr. Sablan admitted to a sponsorship relationship in this case. He stated that there was never any intent for Ms. Tacadena to work full-time. He testified that Ms. Tacadena massaged his wife twice and he paid her $20 for each massage. Mr. Sablan acknowledged that he knew it was unlawful for him to allow a worker to pay the processing fees,” he added.
Labor investigator Dean Tenorio testified that Tacadena knew that she would be providing massage services as needed to Sablan’s wife in exchange for hiring her as a houseworker on paper.
Hirshbein said Sablan not only lied about the nature of his relationship with Tacadena but also made false declarations to the department.
Several exhibits were submitted to the department wherein Sablan claimed to own several land titles but an investigation showed this was not true.
“In his declaration dated Sept. 29, 2006, Sablan declared that he lived in a three-bedroom house with a room for his houseworker. This was not true. Mr. Sablan and his wife were living in a one-bedroom apartment at the time of the application,” said Hirshbein.
Sablan said he came to know about Tacadena through a recruiter/agent whom he only identified as Mr. Mareham.
He said Mareham paid fees for the recruitment of at least three more foreign workers whom Sablan claimed as his hires.
Hirshbein said although Sablan denies any personal gain in assisting the foreign workers to get legal documents, he remains a party to an illegal sponsorship scheme.
“Mr. Sablan retired as a CNMI immigration captain. He worked for many years for the Department of Labor and Immigration. He knows or should know the highly technical nature of contract employment. He certainly knew where to go for information on the subject,” said Hirshbein.
“Mr. Sablan’s claims of ignorance of the law carry far less weight than the same claim made by others. Regardless of his personal knowledge, however, ignorance is no excuse,” he added.