Philippine News, News Report, Maricar Hampton, Posted: Jul 12, 2010

BALTIMORE--A lawyer for four Filipino nurses who were dismissed from the Bon Secours Health System for speaking Tagalog told Philippine News they're deeply distressed, disappointed and embarrased, but are reviewing their legal options.

Immigration attorney Arnedo Valera said the nurses' complaint was filed in June before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), but the EEOC is still awaiting a response from Bon Secours, a large hospital in Maryland.

“Right now the nurses are still very embarrassed not only for the shame but also for feeling that they have been singled out,” Valera told Philippine News.

Nurses Jazziel Granada, Hachelle Natano, Anna Rowena Abulencia Rosales and Corina Capunitan Yap said they were terminated by their employer “without due process,” because they spoke Tagalog while at work, violating a hospital policy. The Bon Secours hospital system has imposed an English-only rule, stating that “English is the principal language of our customers and must be the exclusive language spoken and written by all employees while on duty in the emergency department.”

If the EEOC grants the nurses the right to sue, he said they will file a discrimination case against the hospital before the district court and seek punitive damages of up to $500,000 for all four nurses.