Exotic dancers and hospitality workers will also have difficulty getting hired as federal authorities are concerned that these categories “have been particularly prone to sexual exploitation and other abuse.”
According to the interim final regulations for the transitional worker program, household domestic workers are eligible for the Commonwealth Worker, or CW-1, classification but a business entity must employ them.
“Individual households employing domestic workers would not appear to be a commercial or entrepreneurial undertaking, nor would the individual household be producing goods or services for profit. Therefore, it is anticipated that qualifying domestic workers likely would be employed through a ‘legitimate business’ for placement in individual households,” the regulations stated.
“The rule does not exclude any specific type of employment from the occupational categories permissible for CW-1 workers. However, there are three occupational categories — dancing, domestic workers, and hospitality workers — about which [the Department of Homeland Security] has particular concern,” it added.
Some members of the House of Representatives raised concern about the restriction on the hiring of domestic helpers to David Gulick, district director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, during their meeting yesterday afternoon in the House chamber.
Vice Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Guerrero, R-Saipan, said domestic help is a major issue in the commonwealth, especially for working parents.
He said the federal rules will force one of the parents to stay at home to take care of their children.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said some families who rely on domestic helpers to take care of their elderly or sick family members will also be affected.
Domestic helpers in the CNMI used to be paid a flat rate of $300 a month.
When the islands’ minimum wage was federalized in 2007, they were mandated to be paid the hourly minimum wage rate currently set at $5.05.
Majority of local families rely on domestic helpers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimated that about 950 private domestic household workers will be ineligible for a CW status.
The CW status will be granted to documented foreign workers on the islands who are otherwise ineligible to other U.S.-based employment programs like the H or L visas.
Authorities have capped the number of guest workers in the CNMI at 22,417 which will gradually be reduced to zero by Dec. 31, 2014.
“We estimate that approximately 14,543 foreign workers [13,543 in-status and 1,000 out-of-status who may be brought into lawful status under CNMI law] will be granted CW status in 2009,” DHS said.
