Pinoy nurses win discrimination lawsuit

MANILA, Philippines – Strictly no Filipino?

A California hospital and its Filipino workers who claimed discrimination, have reached a nearly $1 million settlement in a lawsuit on Monday, September 17, the Huffington Post reported.

According to the same article by the Huffington Post, the lawsuit filed by Filipino hospital staff accused their employer, Delano Regional Medical Center in Kern County, of “creating a hostile working environment for Filipinos by singling them out for reprimands and by encouraging other staff to report them.”

The report said that about 70 nurses and hospital staff members complained that they were banned from speaking Filipino while other workers were allowed to speak in their own native language, like Spanish.

The complainants claim to also have been prohibited from speaking Filipino by fellow staff members even during their breaks, and were told in 2006 that the hospital would install surveillance cameras to monitor them if they continue speaking Filipino.

In a statement cited by Huffington Post, the hospital argued that it has a policy of only speaking English to ensure the best care for their patients, and said it will continue to uphold its policy to use English or the language the patients feel most comfortable speaking.

Aside from the nearly $1 million that will be split among the Filipino workers, the medical center will also work on improving its handling of complaints of harassment and discrimination, conduct anti-discrimination training for hospital staff, and improve their language policy, according to the report. – Rappler.com