Congress has 30 days to review the GAO report and recommend legislative action on how the next round wage of hikes in the CNMI and the American Samoa should be implemented.
The CNMI’s hourly minimum wage rate of $4.55 was supposed to be raised to $5.05 last May 26.
This was pushed back to Oct. 1 pending the findings of the GAO wage study.
GAO, the investigative arm of the U.S. Congress, gathered data and conducted interviews with the business and labor sectors.
The U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2007 increasing by 50 cents every year the CNMI and American Samoa’s minimum wage until they reach the current federal hourly wage rate of $7.25 in 2015.
The Fitial administration wants the U.S. Congress to delay for two years the next round of the 50-cent wage hike.
