PERM - Labor Certification Category Archives — Page 19 of 23 — H1B Visa Lawyer Blog Published by Baltimore, Maryland Immigration and Visa Attorneys

August 3, 2009

BALCA upholds denial of Labor Certification – PERM: Failure to follow Newspaper Advertisement Regulations

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination

of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Food Preparation Worker.”

The employer filed a LC and had checked the box on Form 9089 indicating that there was a Sunday edition of a newspaper available in the area of intended employment. The Employer’s report of its newspaper advertisements showed that the first ad was placed on Tuesday, August 22, 2006, and a second advertisement was placed on Saturday-Sunday, October 21-22, 2006, in a different newspaper. In January of 2007, the CO denied labor certification for failure to comply with the Sunday newspaper advertisement regulations. The Employer then submitted a letter indicating that it had re-advertised for the position on Sunday, January 28, 2007. Accordingly, the CO thereafter denied reconsideration on the ground that the 2007 newspaper advertisement was not “in the record” at the time the application was denied.

July 23, 2009

BALCA upholds denial of Labor Certification – Newspaper Advertisement omitted Employer’s Name

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination

of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Brickmason.”

The employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker and in October of 2007, the CO issued an Audit Notification letter requesting among other documents, its recruitment documentation. The Employer complied with the request; however a newspaper advertisement failed to contain the Employer’s name. In May of 2008, the CO issued a letter denying certification. In June of 2008, the Employer filed a request for reconsideration providing that if anything the omission was harmless error, as they had received three resumes in response to the advertisement, and compared their case to the Board’s decision in HealthAmerica. The CO issued a letter of reconsideration but affirmed the denial for the deficiency in including the Employer’s name in the newspaper advertisement. The CO further provided that inclusion of the Employer’s name allows potential applicants to identify the employer and determine if they will apply, and that some applicants may be unwilling to blindly apply for a position in which they do not know the identity of the Employer.

July 21, 2009

BALCA upholds denial of Labor Certification – Failure to provide documentation requested in Audit Notification Letter

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination

of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Cook.”

The employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker and in November of 2007, the CO issued an Audit Notification letter requesting among other documents; Notice of Filing, the recruitment report, the prevailing wage determination, and documentation of recruitment. The Employer’s attorney filed a response indicating that it had a prior approved labor certification for the same position with the exact same requirements, therefore the present application warranted an approval for certification, and if not, the CO needed to thoroughly explain why. In January of 2008, the CO issued a letter denying certification. In February of 2008, the Employer filed a request for review arguing that the CO’s determination was unfair and arbitrary. The CO issued a letter of reconsideration in February of 2009 and provided that the Employer failed to comply with the Audit therefore, the denial was appropriate.

July 20, 2009

BALCA upholds denial of Labor Certification – AUDIT: Failure to provide Recruitment Report

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination

of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Beautician.”

The employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker and in March of 2008, the CO issued an Audit Notification letter requesting among other documents, the recruitment report. The Employer complied with the request for other documents, but failed to submit the recruitment report. In May of 2008, the CO issued a letter denying certification. In October of 2008, the CO issued a letter of reconsideration in which it thoroughly reviewed the applicant’s file and still could not find the recruitment report. Accordingly, since the Employer failed to comply with the Audit (submission of the recruitment report), the denial was appropriate.

July 6, 2009

BALCA vacates CO’s denial of Labor Certification involving Employer’s FEIN

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently vacated the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Cook.”

The employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker in February of 2006. In November of 2007, the CO denied certification under 20 C.F.R. § 656.3 because he was unable to verify the Employer as a bona fide entity. The CO did not explicitly request proof of the employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). In response to the denial, the Employer submitted a copy of a prior approved labor certification arguing that it was for the same employer, same address, same telephone number, and same FEIN. The Employer also submitted a Yellow Pages advertisement for the company, and the company’s business license in a request to the CO for reconsideration. Thereafter, in March of 2009, the CO issued a letter of reconsideration providing that the application would be denied because the applying company could not be verified as a bona fide entity under the regulations. Specifically, the CO stated that the other application contained a FEIN different from the application presently under review; therefore it did not serve as verification of a bona fide entity. Accordingly, since the Employer failed to provide proof of a valid FEIN, the denial was appropriate.

The CO then forwarded the case to BALCA. The Employer submitted an appellate brief arguing that at no time did the CO clarify that he wanted proof of a valid FEIN, and furthermore, never requested such proof. The CO filed a letter brief arguing that its decision should be affirmed by the Board because the Employer did not provide a valid FEIN as required under the regulations.

July 1, 2009

REMINDER – File LCAs with the new iCert System beginning 7/1/09!

by Kellie N. Lego

Effective July 1, 2009, all users of the Old LCA system must begin using the new iCert system located on the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration website to file LCAs.

June 1, 2009

BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer failed to comply with Notice of Filing requirements

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently upheld the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Slitting Supervisor.

The labor certification application was accepted by the CO in October of 2005. A few months later, the CO issued an Audit Notification to the Employer. Among other items, the Audit requested a copy of the Notice of Filing used for the alien worker’s labor application. The Employer responded by complying with the request and sending the Notice of Filing. In October of 2006, the CO issued a denial letter on the grounds that the Notice of Filing failed to contain the appropriate CO’s contact information including the physical address. Thereafter the Employer submitted a request for reconsideration, and only included a notice of entry of appearance of a new attorney; no argument or other information concerning the grounds for denial were provided. In September of 2008, the CO issued a letter of reconsideration finding that the denial of labor certification was valid. The CO noted that the Employer failed to provide any information relating to the missing information on the Notice of Filing. The CO then forwarded the case to the Board. New counsel for the Employer filed a brief arguing that the failure to provide the address of the CO was harmless error and therefore denial based upon a typographical error was a denial of due process. Counsel also stated that when the Employer was made aware of the omission, he agreed to repost the Notice of Filing. The CO appropriately filed an appellate brief stating that the Board had ruled on the issue of failure to include the address of the appropriate CO on the Notice of Filing in a 2007 case.
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May 26, 2009

BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer failed to obtain a proper PWD

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently upheld the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Marketing Consultant.

In August of 2005, the Employer submitted a labor certification application on behalf of an alien worker. The application indicated that the job location was Warren, Rhode Island. Shortly thereafter, the CO issued an audit notification requesting among other documents, the prevailing wage determination (PWD) issued by the State Workforce Agency (SWA). The PWD submitted by the Employer was from California, not Rhode Island. Portions of the California form were crossed out, with Rhode Island being inserted. The portion of the form which provides the job site address and county of job site listed both a Rhode Island address and county and a California address and county. The form was not signed nor dated by the SWA and several important portions were left blank. Specifically, the portions dealing with the Survey Data, Survey Area, Research Analyst were blank. No Rhode Island phone number was provided. The Employer then requested reconsideration arguing that the Rhode Island SWA had informed his office that they could utilize the California prevailing wage request form because they did not have their own form at the time of request. In September of 2008, the CO issued a letter denying certification because the Employer had failed to submit a prevailing wage determination that complied with regulations. The PWD submitted was not effectively endorsed by the Rhode Island SWA, and therefore, it could not be considered valid. The CO then forwarded the case to the Board. Counsel for the Employer argued that it was harmless error, and the CO argued that the Employer failed to provide sufficient documentation to demonstrate that the Rhode Island SWA issued the PWD in question.

Upon BALCA review it was determined that the regulations require that an Employer request a prevailing wage determination from the SWA having jurisdiction over the area of intended employment. Additionally, the SWA must endorse the PWD and return it properly to the Employer. In the case at hand, there was not sufficient information presented that the PWD submitted was actually issued by the Rhode Island SWA.

May 19, 2009

BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer failed to comply with Prevailing Wage Determination Instructions

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently upheld the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Cook, Private Household.

The Employer submitted the application by mail. The application was accepted for processing in January of 2006. In the application, the Employer indicated that the prevailing wage determination (PWD) was based on an ‘Employer Conducted Survey.’ The application failed to include the determination and expiration dates for the prevailing wage determination. In April of 2006, the CO denied certification based on the failure to complete the section dealing with the prevailing wage determination. The CO received the Employer’s request for reconsideration in May of 2006. The Employer stated in its request that it did not receive a response from the State Workforce Agency (SWA), and thereafter decided to adopt its own prevailing wage determination based upon speaking with other similarly situated Employers. The Employer submitted along with the request a new version of Form 9089, in which it indicated ‘PW based on Employer Conducted Survey,’ and a copy of the fax to the Maryland, SWA. On reconsideration, the CO denied the application because the Employer failed to indicate the expiration date of the prevailing wage determination. The CO then forwarded the case to the Board. Counsel for the Employer did not file an appellate brief, whereas the CO did file an appellate brief stating that even when an Employer bases its PW determination on a survey, the survey itself must be submitted to the SWA, who then decides whether the survey was acceptable and issues the prevailing wage determination.

Upon BALCA review it was determined that the PERM regulations provide that an Employer must request a prevailing wage determination from the SWA having jurisdiction over the area of intended employment. The regulations provide that the SWA must specify the determination date and expiration date of the PW determination. The regulations at 20 C.F.R. § 656.40(c) state that if an Employer uses a SWA PWD, the Employer must file the petition or begin recruitment within the validity period of the PWD.
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May 5, 2009

BALCA affirms denial of Labor application – Employer Failed to Comply with Notice of Filing requirements

by Kellie N. Lego

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Purchasing Manager.

The Employer filed an ETA Form 9089, Application for Labor Certification on behalf of the beneficiary. The position of Purchasing Manager required two years of experience in the job offered and a Bachelor’s degree in International Business, Marketing. The Employer also listed an alternate education requirement of a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, English or any other Business Administration major. Following an audit in December of 2006, the CO denied certification because the Notice of Filing was not posted in accordance with the regulations. The Notice of Filing was originally posted in the President’s handwriting from July 11, 2005 until July 25, 2005. The regulations require that the Notice of Filing be posted between 30 and 180 days before the Employer files ETA Form 9089. In this case, the Employer filed ETA Form 9089 on August 9, 2005. Counsel for the Employer stated that the July 11, 2005 date was an error and that the date should have been listed as May 11, 2005. The CO informed the Employer that documentation fabrication created after the fact to correct a deficiency may be discounted and can continue to be the basis for a denial.

Furthermore, while the beneficiary met the primary experience requirements for the position, he did not meet the primary education requirements for the position. To show that the requirements for the position were not unlawfully tailored to the alien, the Employer must have indicated that U.S. applicants with suitable combinations of education, training, or experience were acceptable. In this case, the Employer failed to do so. The CO then forwarded the case to BALCA for review. Counsel for the Employer contended that there was no document fabrication or motive to deceive when filing the petition. Additionally, Counsel indicated that although the form did not state that qualified U.S. applicants with similar educational experience were acceptable, the criterion was applied in its recruitment efforts. The CO reiterated in its brief that the Employer had not posted the Notice of Filing at least 30 days before the filing of ETA Form 9089. The CO also stated that he did not abuse his discretion in this case.
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