The American Nurses Association (ANA) and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) today condemned the exploitation of immigrant RNs by unscrupulous U.S. employers and called for better enforcement of immigration laws.
They cited the case of 26 registered nurses from the Philippines who say they were brought to New York under false pretenses and denied the rights guaranteed by their employment contract. When the nurses resigned, they were sued by their former employer and accused of professional misconduct. On March 22, ten of the RNs were indicted in Suffolk County Supreme Court on charges of endangering their patients. All pleaded not guilty.
"Nurses who come to the U.S. deserve to have their rights protected,” said Tina Gerardi, RN, interim chief executive officer of NYSNA. “Instead, these nurses were placed in the untenable position of being captive to an employer under conditions that did not allow them to provide safe patient care.
With more than 34,000 members, NYSNA is the oldest and largest state nurses’ association in the nation. It is an influential union for RNs, representing nurses in New York and New Jersey. Offering a wide range of services to its members, NYSNA fosters high standards of nursing education and practice and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. It is a constituent of the American Nurses Association and of the United American Nurses, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.