Four nurses filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the Bergen County-owned nursing home director who allegedly favored Filipinos over other workers, causing the complainants to “fear for their jobs,” Bergen County, New Jersey.
Nurses Carmen Mabille, Maureen Beech, Rita Blaser, and Barbara Masten accused Bergen County Health Care Center Director Violetta Arcilla of discrimination against non-Filipino nurses.
According to NorthJersey.com reports, Arciall allegedly forced out non-Filipino workers, docked pay, wielded discipline unfairly, and offered better schedules to Filipino nurses. Arcilla has been serving the 100-bed Rockleigh home in New Jersey since 2015.
Blaser said she experienced retaliation when she filed a complaint about the alleged discrimination. She also said she was “involuntarily pushed out of her job” at the home in January, the suit says.
According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, there are 92,277 nurses who left the Philippines in search of opportunities abroad from 2012 to 2017.
A Pinoy nurse in the U.S. can earn an average of P170,960 ($3,301) per year, PayScale reported. It is 95% higher from what they get here in the Philippines.
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