The National Alliance for Filipino Concerns (NAFCON-US) expresses solidarity with the four Filipino nurses who claimed they were fired by the Bon Secours Baltimore Health System for speaking Tagalog at work. NAFCON applauds the nurses for their courage in filing a discrimination complaint before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The nurses, Corina Capunitan Yap, Anna Rowena Rosales, Hachelle Natano, and Jazziel Granada claimed their employer terminated them without due process and dismissed them solely for speaking their native tongue.
The nurses are being represented by the Migrant Heritage Commission, a member of NAFCON-US.
According to their Attorney Arnedo Valera, "The hospital's policy states that English is the principal language of their customers and must be the exclusive language spoken and written by all employees while on duty in the emergency department. However, the nurses say that they do not recall speaking in Tagalog in front or while providing patient care in the Emergency Department. They admit speaking in their native language only during breaks at the Nurses Station." Valera asked the EEOC to investigate the complaint and if the hospital's English only rule in the workplace violates the Civil Rights Act.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based upon national origin and race. Some courts and governmental agencies have said that discrimination based on language is a form of national origin discrimination because primary language is closely related to the place a person comes from. "Should the EEOC find probable cause in the nurses' complaint," Valera explains, "the EEOC will issue a right to sue, after which they will file a case against Bon Secours Baltimore Health System before the district court and seek punitive damages of up to $500,000 for all four nurses."
There are over 4 million Filipinos in the United States, the largest Filipino population outside of the Philippines. Migration to the United States has increased considerably since former President Arroyo's economic policies have eradicated the potential for industrialization and employment in the homeland. Because of the need to survive deepening poverty in the Philippines, Filipinos in the United States have no choice but to make ends meet for themselves and their families, including living in the shadows as undocumented immigrants.
Filipino immigrants are subject to raids and deportations at the hands of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), human rights violations that occur without any intervention from the Philippine government in the United States. In fact, the Philippine Government assists in the forced migration of Filipinos to the United States by implementing corrupt schemes of human trafficking under the radar. Such has been the case with the Sentosa 27 healthcare workers, Filipino teachers in Louisiana, and domestic helpers such as Marichu Baoanan.
Father Benjamin Alforque, NAFCON President states: "The case of these four Filipina nurses is yet another example of how Filipino immigrants are discriminated against in the United States. Corina Capunitan Yap, Anna Rowena Rosales, Hachelle Natano, and Jazziel Granada deserve justice. The Filipino community must come together in solidarity and demand that the Bon Secours Baltimore Health Care System eliminate discriminatory policies that violate our civil rights."
