[lg policy] California: Pinay nurses win nearly $1-M language discrimination case vs. US hospital

[Harold Schiffman]

Pinay nurses win nearly $1-M language discrimination case vs. US hospital
September 18, 2012 4:00pm
 567  10  6  1891

For being mocked for their accents and ordered to speak "English
only," a group of Filipino nurses won a nearly $1-million language
discrimination settlement against a California hospital.

According to a report of the news site LA Times, lawyers from the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Monday a
$975,000-settlement for the 69 immigrants who filed the case in 2010.

Anna Park, a Los Angeles-based attorney for the commission, said the
Filipina complainants suffered "constant harassment and humiliation
when they opened their mouths, or talked with family members on the
phone."

Park said the nurses were banned from speaking Tagalog and other
Philippine dialects in break rooms, hallways, and the cafeteria.

However, LA Times said officials of the Delano Regional Medical Center
"insisted they did nothing wrong and settled the lawsuit only because
it made financial sense."

Under the settlement agreement, the hospital will conduct
anti-discrimination training and hire a monitor to track workplace
conduct.

The hospital administrators were tasked to conduct regular staff
training on diversity and to enforce reporting and handling of
discrimination complaints.

"Ssshhh, English only"

One of the nurses, Elnora Cayme, who worked at the hospital for more
than 27 years, told the LA Times, "They were always telling us,
'Ssshhh. English only. English only. I felt embarrassed, ashamed."

Even housekeepers and security guards were reportedly instructed to
"act as vigilantes," watch the nurses, and report if they made any
violations.

The report said the hospital had a mix of bilingual employees speaking
Spanish, Hindi, Bengali and other languages.

However, LA Times said the managers targeted only the Filipinos.

Park said the language policy created a hostile work environment where
one worker reportedly sprayed air freshener on a Filipino employee's
lunch to register her "hatred for Filipino food."

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/274542/pinoyabroad/news/pinay-nurses-win-nearly-1-m-language-discrimination-case-vs-us-hospital
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