Watch more News on iWantTFC

A Filipino-American is among the nine health care workers who have filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against their hospital employer in California.

Arlene Nielsen and her coworkers claimed their concerns over staffing and poor working conditions at the St. Francis Medical Center and its owner, Prime Healthcare, have been unaddressed.

The lawsuit describes Nielsen as a dedicated licensed vocational nurse who has been with the hospital since 2016.

The suit says she loved her work until Prime Healthcare acquired St. Francis in 2020.

Nielsen claimed that following the acquisition, profits were prioritized over patients’ safety, a concern that they raised to hospital management and union representatives.

The terminated workers brought support letters from local officials to Prime’s corporate headquarters in November.

They were eventually suspended and fired days before Christmas.

"The plaintiffs have opposed and protested and complained to management and through their unions," said the workers' lawyer Gloria Allred, "about what they believe to be unlawful employment practices resulting in adverse patient health and safety care issues."

The lawsuit also alleged that the hospital would refuse their pleas to hire additional workers.

The workers, some who have been with the hospital for as long as 28 years, believe they were unjustly fired.

While Nielsen did not speak, she joined her co-plaintiffs and their lawyer for a press conference on Jan. 12.

Scott Bytington is among those who sued the hospital. He believes he was axed from his job for advocating for patient care and the safety of their patients.

"As healthcare providers, we are the first and many times, the last line of defense for our patients," he said. "The heart of St. Francis is the people who work there, who kept coming to work during the pandemic, who slept in their cars often and then went back to work like I did."

But in a statement, the hospital denied the workers were terminated for raising concerns, but rather for violating hospital policy.

It also said the employees engaged in what it called abusive misconduct, and trespassing.

"St. Francis will vigorously defend itself from the lawsuit," the hospital said, "and continue to ensure that the hospital is a safe and compassionate environment for all patients and staff."

The hospital added that while the fired workers claimed that they were forced to take on extended shifts because of a lack of staff, they did so voluntarily, with overtime pay.

It further claimed that they had also successfully hired nearly 600 employees annually from 2022 to last year, despite the nationwide labor shortages.