Chen Chunxiang is one of the 114 workers of Kyunseung who were given a transfer order by Labor Hearing Officer Jerry Cody on May 23.
Only 18 have transferred to Uno Moda Corp. and others have already left Saipan.
Chen was in the late stage of pregnancy and scheduled to give birth on May 30. She had stopped working at the factory because she was experiencing health problems associated with her pregnancy.
According to Cody, Chen received the transfer order on the date Kyungseung closed and she immediately looked for work at various establishments, including stores, restaurants and garment factories.
During this time, Cody said, Chen became increasingly fatigued as her baby was weeks overdue but she still managed to visit Rifu and Uno Moda factories, and the Sunleader store in Garapan to look for work.
On June 15, Sunleader’s management informed Chen that she would be hired and that the store would process her papers after she delivered her baby.
Chen delivered her baby on July 4 and several days after she contacted Sunleader to arrange for her transfer.
However, she was told the manager was in China.
But Chen continued to establish contact with the manager, who eventually confirmed her employment.
Cody said Chen requested to the hearing office that she be allowed to transfer to her new employer even after the order has already lapsed.
“The Department of Labor has rejected the notion that ‘pregnancy’ confers on a foreign national worker an automatic grant of additional time to find new employment,” Cody said in his Aug 15 order. “Rather, the department examines the facts and circumstances of each request for additional time on a case-by-case basis to determine the validity of the request.”
Cody said he finds that “the equities weigh in favor of granting Chen’s request for an extension because she appears to be a credible witness, based on the substance of her testimony and her demeanor.”
According to Cody, Chen received transfer relief when her health was clearly affected by her overdue pregnancy.
Despite her fatigue, he added, the worker was reasonably diligent in searching for work.
“Immediately after the birth, she was again diligent in arranging for her transfer to Sunleader. She promptly visited the Sunleader store in an attempt to track down a person in authority, and then telephoned the supervisor in China in her attempt to secure her transfer,” Cody said.
