Hendrix issued the statement in reply to the United Workers Movement, NMI’s request for additional federal personnel in the CNMI to investigate complaints regarding the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping, and child labor provisions of the Federal Labor Standard Act, or FLSA.
“The department is committed to vigorous enforcement of the FLSA, as it is to all labor standards statutes within its purview,” Hendrix said, as she assured that the Wage and Hour Division will consider the placement of future investigative staff.
But Irene N. Tantiado, the United Workers Movement, NMI president, wants U.S. Labor t to be more specific, saying the assurance made by Hendrix was “very general.”
“They should assess the situation in the CNMI since there are many complaints about the violation of federal labor standards and U.S. Labor could hardly dispatch investigators to look into the cases,” Tantiado said.
She said their group has been receiving complaints about non-compliance with the minimum wage law and violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
In her letter to Tantiado, Hendrix explained that the Wage and Hour Division field personnel, who are located in regional, district, and field offices throughout the country, carry out the day-to-day enforcement responsibilities of the agency.
Hendrix said the division regularly examines the staffing level of its field offices to determine where investigative resources are needed.
U.S. Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for its part, undertakes similar staffing reviews, she added.
“We don’t get prompt responses from their office and there are many labor cases that need to be addressed,” Tantiado said.
Hendrix said the Wage and Hour Division has been updating its criteria for the allocation and placement of new enforcement staff in the event that the additional funding request is granted.
She added that the president’s 2009 budget, which was submitted to Congress earlier this year, contains a request for additional funds that will enable the Wage and Hour Division to hire more employees.
