By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

ONE of eight workers abandoned by their former employer in 2003 has been granted a transfer to a new employer under a one-year contract.
Lao Qiong Xiao, one of the workers abandoned by JMS Enterprises Inc. four years ago, attempted to transfer to Joo Ang Apparel Corp. in 2003. But for reasons that were not entirely clear, the Department of Labor withheld permission for her to obtain a one-year permit and instead directed her to obtain temporary work permits while the case remained on appeal.
From August 2006, Lao was employed under a temporary work authorization as a house worker for an employer.
In December 2006, the new employer wrote to the director of the Division of Labor asking for permission to employ Lao under a one-year permit instead of a TWA. The department does not oppose the request and the new employer has already submitted a permit application for this employment
Labor Hearing Officer Jerry Cody, in a two-page order, granted Lao’s request to transfer under a one-year work permit, and instructed the department to process the transfer application.
“This order certifies complainant Lao’s eligibility for a conditional grant of transfer and the right to remain in the commonwealth while the application is under review,” said Cody.
Back in 2003, a Labor compliance agency case consolidated several labor cases filed by employees of JMS Enterprises against the company and seven of its officers. The matter came up for hearings in May and July 2003, and the hearing officer issued an administrative order on July 14, 2003.
The administrative order held that the complainants had been abandoned and were owed thousands of dollars in unpaid wages and liquidated damages. Lao was awarded total damages of $6,962.