Hospital in Delano to pay nearly $1M in lawsuit

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A hospital in Delano will pay nearly $1 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by a group of Filipino-American workers.

Delano Regional Medical Center is located off Garces Highway in Kern County --about 32-miles from Bakersfield

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit was filed in August 2010 on behalf of 70-hospital workers. The employees claim they endured ongoing harassment and discrimination by top levels of hospital management.

Some say they were even threatened with arrest if they did not speak English and were told to go back to the Philippines.

In statement released this afternoon the medical center said: "While the hospital contends it did nothing wrong, which the consent decree confirms, Delano Regional Medical Center's primary concern was bringing this matter to a fair and economically reasonable resolution. It made no financial sense for the hospital to continue this lawsuit and further waste valuable assets which could be better spent on the community's healthcare needs."

As part of the $975 thousand settlement announced Monday, the hospital must also develop strong protocols for handling harassment and discrimination.

Get more Local »

lawsuit, delano, kern county, local

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•