Wellington Y. Kwan v. Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor

Wellington Y. Kwan (“Kwan”) appeals from the order of summary judgment entered in favor of the then-Secretary of Labor, Raymond J. Donovan (“Secretary”), affirming the Department of Labor’s (“Department”) denial of labor certification.

FACTS

Shelly Yunn-Ching Wann (“Wann”) is a citizen of Taiwan, Republic of China, who entered the United States on a student visa. Since December, 1980, Wann has been employed by Kwan as a bilingual bookkeeper/clerk. Kwan is a sole practitioner in Los Angeles, specializing in immigration law. Seventy percent of Kwan’s clients are Chinese. Wann’s time at work is equally divided between her bookkeeping responsibilities and various secretarial functions, including answering the telephone and translating documents from Chinese to English.

On June 26, 1981, Kwan filed an application for alien employment certification with the Department on behalf of Wann, which was denied on April 7, 1983 by the Department’s certifying officer. The certifying officer determined that the job opportunity requirements were not justified by a business necessity, and that the combination of duties was not logical and was unduly restrictive for the job opportunity. Kwan made…