Hundreds of former garment workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas still have pending court cases, according to the Department of Labor.
The Saipan Tribune reports the department submitted to the Superior Court a list containing 359 names of mainly Chinese and Filipino workers from two defunct garment factories who still have judicial review matters in court arising from departmental decisions.
The assistant attorney general, Eli Golob, says he filed the list pursuant to a court order dated November the 12th 2009, granting two-year transition conditional permits or umbrella permits to these workers.
The paper reports a Superior Court associate judge David Wiseman ruled that all alien workers who have pending labor cases in court are eligible for the permits.
The move is a result of a consensus reached between the Department, the Labor Administrative Hearing Office, the Attorney General's Office, and counsel for the foreign workers.
