Tuesday, February 26, 2008 DOJ junks illegal hiring raps v. recruitment agency
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has dismissed for lack of merit a complaint for illegal recruitment filed by 13 immigrant Filipino nurses against Sentosa Recruitment Agency (SRA) and its mother company in the US, Sentosa Care LLC of New York.
In a resolution issued by Senior State Prosecutor Lilian Doris Alejo, the DOJ ruled that respondents Sentosa and its Philippine recruitment agency have clearly failed to fully comply with and implement the stipulations in their contract with the nurses but such breach of contract warrants an action which is civil in nature and not a criminal action.
"An in-depth study of the record shows that there was no substantive alteration in the employment contracts signed by the complainants, to sustain findings of illegal recruitment against the respondents," the resolution stated.
Concurring in the DOJ resolution were Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño and Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon.
Named in the charge sheet as respondents were Sentosa chief operating officers Bent Philipson, Francis Luyun and Olivia Serduar.
Complainants' lawyer Felix Vinluan have accused the Sentosa officials of violating Article 34 and 39 of Presidential Decree (PD) 442, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines.
Based on their complaint, the nurses alleged that respondents are guilty of illegal recruitment because of its acts of furnishing or publishing "any false notice or information or document in relation to recruitment or employment" and allegedly it "substituted or altered employment contracts approved and verified by the Department of Labor."
SRA and its principals in the US employs more than 5,000 employees consisting of doctors, nurses, dieticians and nutritionists, therapists, pharmacists, office and support staff.
Of this number, more than 1,000 employees are Filipinos. Of its 14 long-term care and rehabilitation and nursing centers, the top nursing positions are held by Filipino nursing directors.
The DOJ resolution was considered another blow to the Filipino nurses after the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) last January 24 also dismissed the cases filed by 31 nurses against SRA and its foreign principals for alleged illegal dismissal, non-payment and underpayment of salaries and other money claims.
In its decision penned by Executive Labor Arbiter Fatima Jambaro-Franco, the NLRC ruled that the complainants did not observe the required notice to the employer when they submitted their resignation letters thus they themselves violated the contract and the Labor Code o the Philippines.
On money claims, Franco found out that the payslips of the 31 nurses clearly showed that they were paid a salary rate of US$24 even if their contract only states a minimum of US$22. In fact, one nurse-Carlo Conrad Garcia, was even paid US$40 per hour.
The NLRC noted that the complainants failed to adduce evidence on the fault or malice on the part of the respondents to warrant the award of damages or attorney's fees in their favor.
In the US, the Filipino nurses have also suffered successive losses in cases they filed against the company, particularly after an indictment was issued by the District Attorney of Suffolk County, New York by way of a Special Grand Jury Proceedings against 10 nurses and their lawyer for violation of penal laws. (ECV/Sunnex)
