CNMI Department of Labor Secretary Vicky Benavente is reminding employers that the prevailing wage is a federal mandate.
“Employers who are underpaying their employees are in violation of [that] mandate,” she said.
CNMI DOL can assist a claimant who wants to file a labor complaint, and will initiate an investigation, she added.
She said it is the CNMI Department of Commerce that compiles the prevailing wage survey report, which determines the wage rates for various occupations.
“Businesses come to our office to ask how much they are required to pay a plumber versus a carpenter, for example,” Benavente added.
The Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018 states that the U.S. Department of Labor shall make available to employers an occupational wage survey conducted by the governor of the CNMI; in the absence of an approved occupational wage survey, the Occupational Employment Statistics mean wage on Guam will be considered the prevailing wage. When there is no Guam Occupational Employment Statistics mean wage, the prevailing wage issued will be the national mean wage adjusted for purposes of the CW-1 program.
In July 2022, the CNMI’s latest prevailing wage study report was approved by the USDOL. For more information, click here.
