GARDEN CITY, New York — A federal judge has rejected discrimination claims filed by 26 Filipino nurses in New York.
The nurses said they were forced to quit their jobs at nursing homes in New York City and suburban Long Island. They said agreements made about working conditions before they left their homeland were not honored by their U.S. employers.
An administrative law judge ruled June 30 that the resignations were not protected by federal immigration employment law.
The nurses' immigration attorney said he was disappointed the ruling was made without a hearing. He is considering an appeal.
Ten of the nurses had faced misdemeanor charges for endangering sick patients by quitting their jobs at a nursing home in Suffolk County on Long Island, east of New York City. A state appellate court ruled in January that the prosecution was unconstitutional.
The nurses were recruited from the Philippines to help ease a staffing shortage in the U.S.
The case sparked outrage and protests in the Philippines over the way the nurses were treated by the company that hired them. - AP
Home 
Official Website 