LA nurse alleges discrimination in favor of Filipino coworkers

A nurse in Los Angeles settles her lawsuit alleging discrimination in favor of Filipino coworkers. FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES – A registered nurse has reached a tentative settlement in her lawsuit against Los Angeles County in which she alleged she was denied promotions and wage increases in retaliation for complaining that a supervisor gave favorable work assignments to Filipinos and other Asians, regardless of seniority.

Attorneys for plaintiff Jessica Castillo filed court papers on Thursday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Theresa M. Traber notifying her of a “conditional settlement” in the case that is subject to final approval by the Board of Supervisors. No terms were divulged. The judge scheduled a Nov. 7 hearing for an update on the settlement.

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In their previous court papers, county attorneys stated that Castillo actually was promoted twice and that when she was denied elevated positions it was due to her own mistakes or because other candidates were more experienced or had better qualifications. The same lawyers also stated that Castillo received “steady and regular” amounts of overtime.

Castillo was hired in September 2015. She worked out of an office Torrance and traveled to county hospitals and other health facilities to evaluate them.

In late 2018 and early 2019, Castillo began experiencing discrimination and preferential treatment based on race when a program manager responsible for distributing work assignments “blatantly discriminated” against Latino, Black and white nurses in favor of Filipino and other Asian-American nurses, the suit alleged.

Castillo was denied promotions each time she applied, but Filipinos were promoted and applied for promotions on multiple occasions but she was always “in violation of L.A. County rules and without respect for seniority,” the suit stated.

Similarly, only Filipino and Asian-American nurses were allowed to telecommute and get overtime when the pandemic began, the suit states.

“Jessica Castillo as well as African-American, Latina and Caucasian nurses were forced to go out in the field where they were being exposed to COVID,” according to the complaint.

After Castillo and other health evaluator nurses filed various complaints about their alleged treatment to no avail, Castillo transferred to another department in September 2021, the suit stated. The plaintiff contends that her denial of promotions and the chances for higher wages were tied to her complaints. (CNS)