Filipinos sue CA hospital over English-only rule

[cory777]

Source: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Dozens of Filipino hospital workers in California sued their employer Tuesday alleging they were the sole ethnic group targeted by a rule requiring them to speak only English.

The group of 52 nurses and medical staff filed a complaint accusing Delano Regional Medical Center of banning them from speaking Tagalog and other Filipino languages while letting other workers speak Spanish and Hindi.

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The plaintiffs are seeking to join an August complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Kern County federal court over the hospital's enforcement of a rule requiring workers to speak English.

Filipino workers said they were called to a special meeting in August 2006 where they were warned not to speak Tagalog and told surveillance cameras would be installed, if necessary, to monitor them. Since then, workers said they were told on a daily basis by fellow staffers to speak only English, even on breaks.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101207/ap_on_bi_ge/ca_filipino_nurses_discrimination

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Activist News http://activistnews.blogspot.com

[boppers]

1. It's a hospital. Speak a common language.

If folks can't learn Tagalog, or Hindi, or whatever, fire them.

People's lives are at risk, so learn the language of the land.

edit:singular/plural typo

[Iggo]

5. They do speak English.

[boppers]

51. Do "they" speak, Tagalong, and Hindi, too?

Which "they" are you referring to? The mono-lingual folks, or the multi-lingual folks?

[Iggo]

56. multi

[jberryhill]

6. People's lives are at risk when two workers chat during a break?

WTF does that have to do with the patients?

[CreekDog]

11. Filipinos usually learn English in the Phillipines

keep going with the stereotype.

:rofl:

[boppers]

49. How are the Filipino's the problem? They're using several languages.

Maybe re-read my post, and take another guess at who I am advocating needs more education, or termination.

[frylock]

36. everyone chill the fuck out!

i'm a racist!

[boppers]

50. Being multi-lingual is racist?

Another poster made the same mistake, which seems to be assuming that I'm advocating firing the mono-lingual posters, even though I stated that folks who can't be bothered to learn another language (or more) are the ones who should be fired.

[pampango]

2. It's ridiculous to have to speak English "even on breaks". However, they should be able to speak

English with patients, coworkers and others as a part of their job.

"In its lawsuit, the EEOC has accused the hospital in California's San Joaquin Valley of creating a hostile working environment for Filipinos by singling them out for reprimands and for encouraging other staff to report them. The agency is seeking an injunction to protect the workers against future discrimination.

The EEOC has seen an increase in complaints alleging discrimination based on national origin amid a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, said Anna Park, a regional attorney for the EEOC. That's especially the case in California's central valley, where a greater share of the complaints the agency receives relate to such issues than in the nation as a whole.

In this case, the current and former hospital workers filed a separate complaint under state law in part because monetary damages are capped by federal law, said Julie Su, litigation director for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, which represents the plaintiffs. They want the English-only policy to be changed and for hospital staff to be trained on the new rule.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. This is in Delano?

Iirc, the VAST MAJORITY of residents in Delano are Spanish/English speakers. This is weird.

[CreekDog]

12. There are filipinos all over California in large numbers --especially nurses

and other medical staff.

[Le Taz Hot]

55. OK, aparently my post was incomplete.

I'm surprised any organization in Delano would have an "English Only" policy with the majority of the population either Spanish/English speakers or Spanish Only speakers. Why are they targeting Filipinos specifically and why Delano of all places? I've been here 55-1/2 years so, yes, I'm aware that there are Filipinos in California along with lots of other ethnic groups.

[The Straight Story]

4. They should only speak english at home too, or be fired

Kind of like how you can't smoke at home with some companies and people are ok with it.

[Chan790]

34. Oh boo-hoo!

I once worked a PR contract that required me to be a vegan for the length of contract. Did I gripe? No, I knew that going in...if you don't want to abide by those sorts of contact stipulations, don't take the gig. If you're that good and irreplaceable (and I was but chose not to be the asshole), they'll come crying back with more money on the table even.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

44. The Nicotine Avenger Strikes!

[Peggy Day]

7. I work at a county hospital where co-workers speak whatever

language they want in front of others while at work. They will talk in front of me in other languages about patients and other things. They get extra pay for their ability. I don't begrudge them, and I wish I would have been taught another language back when my brain was like a sponge. I am not saying they shouldn't speak their language to each other on their lunch (we get no breaks-I know-illegal), but when I'm then only one in a room with 4 other nurses that speak another language and they converse only to each other in a language I can't understand, I consider it RUDE RUDE RUDE. I wonder if I started whispering and laughing when they were the only ones in the area what they would feel. I also wonder how they were raised. They wouldn't dream of talking like that in front of the charge nurse, or other people that might have some power, so it also has something to do with something else. After a while it turns into a hostile work environment. I won't do anything about it, because I don't like to confront people.
Not to long ago someone said something to a patient that was coughing. All of a sudden they were speaking Tagalog and started laughing. You could see the patient thought they were laughing at her. It was rude.

I don't care what they speak to each other on their own time, however I still have hurt feelings when they speak another language in front of me and I'm the only one else there-be it Spanish, Tagalog or whatever.

[Iggo]

10. Learn the language!

You can't understand what people who aren't talking to you are saying to each other?

Learn the language!

[Ginto]

20. Learn the non-native language? You're kidding right?

This would never be tolerated in Germany, France, Japan, etc. If it causes an unhealthy work environment then it is they who must change.

[Iggo]

21. Not kidding at all.

You want to eavesdrop? Learn the language.

[Ginto]

22. You want to gossip in your native language at work. Get a job in your native land.

Imagine if native English-speaking nurses were speaking in pig-latin to prevent non-native speakers from understanding them. The lawsuit would be quick and easy.

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Imagine if native English-speaking nurses were working in a non-English speaking country

and they were told that they can't speak English in the lunch room.
That level of "English Only" is xenophobia, not concern for patient care.

[Ginto]

28. Nice straw man.

Where does it say anything about the lunch room?

Who's to say it wasn't going on in front of other patients, nurses, doctors? I am fine with it in the lunch room, but if it is going on in front of patients then that is a big problem.

[Gormy Cuss]

33. Last line of the excerpt in the OP

Since then, workers said they were told on a daily basis by fellow staffers to speak only English, even on breaks.

Yes, it says breaks not lunch room but it's the same idea -- speaking a language other than English when not on duty.

[Iggo]

25. Imagine if you didn't give a shit what people were gossiping about .

Then you'd be content as a monolingual person.

Now imagine you were like most people in the civilized world and knew at least a smattering of the languages which are spoken in your community.

Imagine.

[Ginto]

29. Imagine you're a patient in a hospital bed and two nurses are talking in another language

and laughing. Might make you scared, uncomfortable, nervous. Amazing how some folks are scared of our native language. This is just another reason why America can't have nice things like western Europe.

[Iggo]

31. I speak more than one language.

I'm never afraid when someone isn't speaking one of the ones I know.

I just ask.

[LanternWaste]

32. Like four national languages of Switzerland?

"This is just another reason why America can't have nice things like western Europe..."

Like four national languages of Switzerland? You're right... this is precisely why we can't have more than one language. :eyes:

[Ginto]

41. The same Swiss that are after Assange?

I was thinking more of Germany, France, Spain, Great Britain, etc. Throw in Japan for a little Asian flavor.

[LanternWaste]

43. Don't know if the Swiss or after Assange or not. Merely that they speak four languages,

Don't know if the Swiss or after Assange or not. Merely that they speak four languages, have little problems with it, and American seems downright provincial and rather quant compared to that particular. :shrug:

Throw in the twenty-seven national languages of Russia for a little more flavor...

[Ginto]

58. The Swiss also have very liberal gun rights with military rifles in many homes.

Sounds good.

[frylock]

38. imagine you're in a hospital and two negroes are talking and laughing..

scared yet? you should be.

[Ginto]

40. Okay scarecrow. nt

[boppers]

53. Hm.

(from http://www.snopes.com/photos/medical/klaner.asp )

[Ginto]

59. Funny! :)

[boppers]

54. You know how many medical terms aren't conventional English?

Do you avoid hospitals staffed by people who went to Med school, because they might make you nervous?

Quick: what's an "intergluteal cleft"?

[boppers]

52. So, you're fine with them speaking Cherokee, then?

Hint: the US has many "native languages".

[Ginto]

60. Yes, many native languages, but we will never have an official language. nt

[frylock]

37. so then fucking move to germany, france, japan, etc.

this is america, land of the free.

[Ginto]

42. Love it or leave it! nt

[cowcommander]

13. I know what you mean, I used to work at a nursing home

The drama was unbearable, so much annoying asshattery and feuding between the RNs, CNAs, management and doctors. It's a very poisonous environment to work in. :(

[Name removed]

57. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Mojorabbit]

8. When I was still working in the 80's

as a nurse they were beginning to import nurses from overseas. It is part of the corporate takeover of hospitals. It used to be a wonderful way to make a difference and make a good living at the same time.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ginto]

14. I have a very soon to be cousin-in-law who does that.

Works a few months as a nurse in the states and then returns to the Philipines .

[Ginto]

15. Wrong spot.

[Dappleganger]

17. Now that's a bigoted statement if I ever heard one.

Jesus.

Our NE FL area has a very high concentration of Filipinos who have lived and worked here for decades, with no intentions of leaving except for brief family visits. They bring their friends and relatives HERE. They are becoming naturalized citizens HERE (I even went to a ceremony last spring which was held at our kids' school, and more than half the ones taking the oath were Filipino). My Filipino/Japanese doctor and her Filipino nurses have lived in FL for well over 25 years and have no intention of ever leaving--this is their home! My kids' pediatrician and her husband (he served in the Navy over 25 years)--both Filipino, have no intention of ever leaving and have brought more family here.

My husband works in a manufacturing plant and most of the workers have been there 20, 25, 30 years and guess what--most of them are Filipino. So they speak their language together while on a break, so what? As long as the job is done, that's what matters most. ALL of them speak English.

[Iggo]

18. But he said 'some', so that makes it okay!

:eyes:

[Dappleganger]

19. LOL, right!

Only bigoted towards SOME lets it pass the smell test.

;)

[Xithras]

27. California sees a lot of population "churn" among Filipinos

Maybe it's more common on the left coast (because we're closer), but there's nothing bigoted about that posters statement that many don't stay here. There is a substantial population churn among California Filipino's as they come here, make money, and return to their homeland. Filipinos are a favorite in the health care field because many of them are natively English/Spanish/Tagalog trilingual (Spanish has made a bit of a comeback in the Philippines over the last couple decades), which means they can communicate effectively with both English and Spanish speaking populations. Because they can act as both translators and nurses, they make reasonably good money. Even when working in comparatively poor rural areas in California, they take home far more money than they would have made in the Philippines.

Perhaps you didn't know this, but "exporting nurses" is big business in the Philippines. Filipina nurses are trained on the islands, and are then sent to Japan (the most common destination), the United States, and across southeast Asia and the middle east. I recently read that about 90% of nurses in Dubai hospitals are Filipina. They have no intention of immigrating, and join these careers with the promise of going overseas to work for a "few years" and returning home "rich". Sadly, most are forced to work far longer than they anticipated, few return home rich, and many end up in countries where they are abused and have few legal rights.

The posters statement was essentially correct. Many of the Filipina nurses in California hospitals have no intention of becoming Americans, and are only here to work for a few years.

[cowcommander]

45. Thanks for backing me up, you are correct

I'm sorry if other people found what I said offensive, but it is unfortunately true. I used to work as a medical biller for various nursing homes and also worked with Filipino nurses. Of course, not ALL of them do this and many Filipina nurses also use the opportunity of working here to live in America.

I'm Filipino too, and my parents came here to America because of an H1B visa and were able to bring me and my siblings to the U.S too. It took ten years for our family to get a green card, so I'm quite grateful of having the opportunity to live in America and love this country, but even my parents feel that they can't live here pemanently. Because of the expensive cost of living, they also plan on returning to the Philippines when they get older.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

48. I fail to see

what's intrinsically wrong in planning to stay 0.5, 1, 2, or 3 years in one country and then go back home.

[cottonseed]

24. You know nothing and you're showing it.

[cowcommander]

47. See post #45

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. Yeah, to "show off". Not to improve their families' lives. To "show off".

Like the Cadillacs the welfare queens use. :eyes:

[cowcommander]

46. Sorry, that might be a rather offensive term and I was wrong to use it

Of course they do help their families. They send a lot of money back to the Philippines to help their families, it is a vital part of the Philippines economy. Remittances account for 10% of the GDP with $18.6 billion being sent back there by Filipinos working abroad. But yes, that also gives them a rise in status and the Filipino term for this is "nagpapasikat".

[Ginto]

16. Makes sense. This would be the same in Germany, France, Japan, etc. nt

[cottonseed]

26. A country not smart enough to train it's own nurses making the requirements. Classic.

[Zoigal]

35. If spanish and hindi are allowed, i can understand why the Tagalog

speakers are upset. i wonder if nurses are who speak Taglog are required to speak English to patients that only understand/speak Taglog.
However, if one is going to live in a nation (any nation) i think
that an effort should be made to learn the country's language.....z

[Kber]

39. The EEOC has issued guidelines on when a company can require English only;

EEOC guidelines:

The EEOC’s “Guidelines on Discrimination Because of National Origin,” 29 C.F.R. § 1606.7, state that if an employer has a rule requiring that employees speak English “only at certain times,” the EEOC will consider the rule permissible only if it can meet the standard of “business necessity.” According to the EEOC guidelines, examples of some situations in which business necessity would justify an English-only rule include:

1) For communications with customers, coworkers, or supervisors who only speak English.
2) In emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety .
3) For cooperative work assignments in which the English-only rule is needed to promote efficiency.
4) To enable a supervisor who only speaks English to monitor the performance of an employee whose job duties require communication with coworkers or customers.

I imagine that a hospital setting, where critical health information may need to be communicated to all staff, that an English only rule might fly.

However, you'd have to enforce it for all language groups. It sounds like the hospital was singling out a particular group and enforcing the rule in an unfair and unequal way. That's a recipe for a lawsuit, imo.