Guam § 1106 - General Powers and Duties of Director.

§ 1106. General Powers and Duties of Director.

As head of the Department, the Director:

(a) Shall administer the Department;

(b) Shall exercise and discharge the powers and duties

of the Department through such divisions or other

organizational units as he may establish pursuant to this

Chapter or as otherwise provided by law;

(c) Shall enforce the provisions of this Chapter and of

any other laws imposing any power, duty or function upon

the Department;

(d) May, after notice and opportunity to be heard, make,

amend, or repeal substantive or procedural rules and

DIV. 1 LABOR REGULATIONS

regulations of general application that he may deem

necessary or appropriate to carry out the powers and duties

vested in him or in the Department; such rules and

regulations shall be sent to the Governor, and upon his

approval and promulgation by Executive order, shall have the

force and effect of law;

(e) May formulate and adopt rules necessary or proper

for the internal administration of the Department;

(f) Shall cause proper investigations or inspections to be

made of all matters proscribed by this Chapter and by any

other laws within the jurisdiction of the Department;

(g) May require any employer, or his agent, who is

affected by a law within the jurisdiction of the Department,

to submit full and correct statements in writing, including

sworn statements with respect to wages, hours, names,

addresses, and such other information pertaining to his

employees and their employment as the Director may deem

necessary or appropriate;

(h) Shall institute, or cause to be instituted, such legal

proceedings as may be necessary properly to carry out any of

his powers or duties;

(i) Shall inquire into the causes of injuries arising out of

and in the course of employment, and advance measures for

the prevention of such injuries and for the improvement of

sanitary conditions in places of employment;

(j) Shall encourage, promote, and develop occupational

training opportunities for the citizens of Guam;

(k) May investigate the condition or status of aliens

relative to their employment, and shall ensure compliance

with all applicable Guam and federal laws regarding the

employment of aliens.

(1) To facilitate the investigation, employers shall

ensure that all alien workers at a worksite possess some

form of valid, government issued picture identification

to include, but not limited to: a passport, a Guam or

DIV. 1 LABOR REGULATIONS

state-issued driver’s license, or an employment

authorization card; and the Director or his authorized

representative may request such identification

documents from any alien worker at a place of work on

Guam. If a worker’s immigration status is in question,

the Department may temporarily detain such individual

on site so that the Department can verify the worker’s

status with federal immigration officials.

(2) Should an inspection of a worksite determine

that an alien(s) who does not possess lawful work status

is being employed at a place of work on Guam, the

employer shall be served a notice of violation (or

citation) which details the violation, and shall be subject

to licensing sanctions including: suspension or

revocation of their business license, and/or license

sanction fees. The respondent (employer) may request

an administrative hearing. Said request for a hearing

must be received in writing by the Department within

fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of receipt of a

notice of violation (or citation). Notwithstanding § 9220

of Title 5 GCA, Article 2, Chapter 9, the hearing shall

be conducted by the Director, who shall be the hearing

officer. The hearing process shall be subject to the

procedures of Chapter 9 Title 5 of the Guam Code

Annotated; and any notice of violation (or citation)

served pursuant to this Section shall fulfill the

requirements of § 9202 of the same. The Office of the

Attorney General shall assist in providing advice to the

Director/hearing officer when matters of law arise. In

the event that the Director/hearing officer affirms that

the notice of violation (or citation) is valid, or if no

hearing is requested in writing within fifteen (15) days

from the date on the notice of violation the respondent

shall be subject to the following:

(A) First Offense: For the first offense, the

employer shall be subject to a license sanction fee

of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per worker

DIV. 1 LABOR REGULATIONS

without lawful status found to be employed at the

worksite inspected, and suspension of the

employer’s license to do business on Guam may be

recommended. The Director may refer the matter

to the appropriate licensing entity with the

recommendation to suspend the employer’s license

to do business on Guam for a period of up to thirty

(30) days, or until the employer pays all license

sanction fees levied for a first offense of this

Section.

(B) Second Offense: In the instance of a

second offense, defined as any violation of this

Section not on the same day as the date noted on

the first notice of violation (or citation), but within

one year of the date noted on the first notice of

violation (or citation), the employer shall be subject

to a license sanction fee of Two Thousand Dollars

($2,000.00) per worker without lawful status found

to be employed at the worksite inspected, and

suspension of the employer’s license to do business

on Guam may be recommended. The Director may

refer the matter to the appropriate licensing entity

with the recommendation to suspend the

employer’s license to do business on Guam for a

period of up to sixty (60) days, or until the

employer pays all license sanction fees levied for a

second offense of this Section.

(C) Third Offense: In the instance of a third

offense, defined as any violation of this Section not

on the same day as the date noted on the second

notice of violation (or citation), but within one year

of the date noted on the second notice of violation

(or citation), the employer’s license to do business

on Guam shall be revoked by the appropriate

licensing authority immediately upon the receipt of

findings of the Director.

DIV. 1 LABOR REGULATIONS

(D) During the appeal, the respondent

(employer) who is served the notice of violation

may establish an affirmative defense against the

licensing sanctions imposed pursuant to this

Section, if the employer has complied in good faith

with the federal I-9 process to determine an alien’s

lawful work status prior to hire.

(3) In the event of a violation of this Section, if the

employer of an alien worker without lawful work status

is not readily identifiable, the prime contractor at a job

site whose name appears on the building permit, or the

owner named on the business license of the

establishment inspected shall be liable for the licensing

sanctions administered pursuant to this Section.

(4) The Department’s Alien Labor Processing and

Certification Division shall have all necessary

enforcement and investigative powers needed to enforce

the provisions in this Section.

(5) Funds generated from § 1106(k)(2) shall be

deposited in the GDOL Manpower Development Fund,

and expended in accordance with the provisions of Title

22 GCA § 7118.1 (e).

(l) Shall promote friendly and cooperative relations

between employers and employees;

(m) May inquire into and report on the cause of all

strikes, lockouts, and other labor-management controversies

or disputes;

(n) Shall develop, implement, and promote

informational and educational programs to acquaint

employers, employees, and the public with the purposes and

provisions of all labor laws;

(o) Shall submit an annual report to the Governor of the

Department’s operations, and render such other reports as the

Governor shall requires or as may be required by law; and

DIV. 1 LABOR REGULATIONS

(p) Shall exercise and discharge such other powers and

duties as may be prescribed by this Chapter or by any other

law.

(q) Shall cause the posting of all job opportunities, for

which applications for temporary alien labor certification

have been submitted by employers, at each Mayor’s office by

transmitting appropriate job announcements electronically to

the email address of each Mayor’s office on Guam. A listing

of all Mayors’ offices’ email addresses, for the purposes of

this Subsection, shall be provided to the Department by the

Mayors Council of Guam.