Attorney Vaughn G.T. Cook., a Director at Torkildson, Katz, Hetherington, Harris & Knorek, Attorneys at Law, has recently been credited with earning a favorable decision from the United States Department of Labor on behalf of a highly deserving client.
The matter in question concerned the Waikiki Resort Hotel, which had applied for a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") that would have enabled the company to apply for permanent residence for one of their employees as a market research analyst. The Application for Permanent Employment Certification was initially denied by a Certifying Officer (CO) of the DOL due to a reference to "background and reference checks" in the employer's job order with a State Workforce Agency (SWA).
In preparing the request for reconsideration, Director Cook pointed out - and the CO conceded - that the content of the job order was not governed by the DOL regulation, 20 CFR ยง 656.24(b)(2), that had been cited in the initial denial. However, the CO argued that the inclusion of background and reference checks in the job posting may have created a disincentive for U.S. workers to apply for the job.
In a favorable decision for the employer, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals ruled that the CO was using the cited regulation as a "catch-all" to reject any action that the CO found problematic, regardless of whether a specific regulatory requirement was violated. As such, the matter was remanded for certification.
Thanks to Director Cook's representation, the Waikiki Resort Hotel has gained a valuable employee and an immigrant with a promising future will now have the opportunity to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis. We congratulate Director Cook and his client on their victory before the Board.
Link to decision: http://www.oalj.dol.gov/Decisions/ALJ/PER/2016/In_re_WAIKIKI_RESORT_HOTEL_2016PER00298_(FEB_01_2017)_080230_CADEC_SD.PDF