Thread: Filipinos sue CA hospital over English-only rule

Filipinos sue CA hospital over English-only rule

By AMY TAXIN, Associated Press Amy Taxin, Associated Press – Tue Dec 7, 5:52 pm ET
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.

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.

"I felt like people were always watching us," said tearful 56-year-old Elnora Cayme, who worked for the hospital from 1980 to 2008. "Even when we spoke English ... people would come and approach us and tell us, 'English only.'"

A message was left at the hospital seeking comment.

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.

[Rewind: Politician caught in English-only controversy]

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.

[Political candidate's statement: 'This is Alabama, we speak English']

Under California law, employers may require workers to speak English if there is a business necessity, Su said.

Delano Regional Medical Center is a 156-bed hospital located about 30 miles north of Bakersfield

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101207/ap_ ... rimination

good for you . your in Our country English . it should be that way . you don't Like it get out. I go to the store all I hear chicken it not funny
so stand up for your right English . only & if they don't like it get the Hell Out you know we have every one from all over this country com ein for a visit & don't leave. & the gov don't Check any thng how long they are going to stay . it not right . well the gov better starte to check .or they will be out Of a job & don't say it will not happen it will
so good for you Engish only in out I don't care if your from another country English

I bet it's going to be found that that the allegations of they are picking on us are unfounded. I'm sure the hospital has a rule that applies to all employees, which has been upheld by the courts.

I don't want someone standing over my bed with a medical chart talking in a foreign language about my medical condition. What are they hiding?

Dixie

We sit while foreigners define the status of the USA.

Can we go to France or any other country and issue to have our language used in day to day?

We no longer control our country. Those in elected office are pawns of the global elite.

It's not a civil rights violation to require employees to speak English. EEOC vs Salvation Army.

EEOC rules on English in the workplace.

http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/national-origin.html#VC

Frankly, the EEOC vs Salvation Army was a frivolous lawsuit and Nancy Pelosi blocked legislation passed by both houses that would have addressed this issue.

http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-108782.html

The way I read this, the Mexicans are discriminating against the Filipinos, which doesn't surprise me at all.

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.

I have to take issue with this. I agree it should be English Only, but they shouldn’t pick and choose what languages they enforce. If they had just said to everyone they must use English at work, they’d not be in this predicament.

At work, it’s easy to overhear situations/discussions that are incorrect. It sometimes is uncomfortable to butt in, but if they’re wrong, they’re wrong. It’s better for the project/work if everyone can understand each other all the time.

The joys of multiculturism. If any of these foreign born immigrants had any respect for this country , they would only speak English while at work. ALL of them! But of course this is too much to ask, especially when you get enough of them together who speak a similiar language.

The balkanization of our country continues full speed ahead!