Be Careful With Language Discrimination in Nursing Career Abroad
Is there really such thing as Language Discrimination in Nursing Career?
That’s exactly what happened, years ago, to 4 Filipino nurses and a co-hospital worker who were fired after speaking Tagalog in Baltimore Hospital.
Although there are hospitals that require nurse employees to speak in English that should be fluent enough to be understood by foreign patients, there will always be a careful analysis according to the Federal Law to see to it that no air of language discrimination is present. Otherwise, such are legal and necessary for business reasons.
However, the case of Rosales, Corina Capunitan-Yap, Hachelle Natano and Jazziel Granada showed an obvious trace of language discrimination since the incident happened during lunch breaks. Plus the fact that other hospital staff members, coming from other nationalities, who are as well doing the same have not even received mere warnings and any disciplinary actions.
Thus, a decision was finalized by the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) that Bon Secours Hospital’s English-only regulations discriminated against Rosales, Corina Capunitan-Yap, Hachelle Natano and Jazziel Granada. An undisclosed amount agreed by the said hospital to pay, ended the Filipino nurses’ discrimination complaint.
As Anna Rowena Rosales describes it, “We’re almost one with it. We’ve signed the papers and it’s just a matter of paying us.”
Surely until now, the trauma behind it is still fresh from that very day and is forever remembered.
