by Jun Medina, PDI
A Los Angeles-based Filipino recruiter specializing in placement of teachers in the United States has been sued before a Baton Rouge, Louisiana court for collecting exorbitant fees from highly skilled teachers from the Philippines.
Administrative Law Judge Shelly Dick who heard the complaints in Baton Rouge said she would render issue a ruling on the lawsuit in about two weeks, according to the website of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.
The ruling is expected to determine whether the embattled United Placement International Inc. violated Louisiana law by operating without a license and whether the money collected illegally from more than 300 teachers it recruited from the Philippines will be returned to the teachers.
Testimony by teachers presented during the hearing revealed shocking details of company practices of collecting excessive fees described by a teachers' leader as "disgusting" and suggesting "bondage and harassment."
“The alleged behavior of this recruiter and the treatment of these teachers is quite frankly disgusting and an affront to basic American values,†said Steve Monaghan, president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT).
Jack Navarro, husband of company owner Lulu Navarro and a UPI director, admitted under oath that the company does not have a license to act as an employment agency in Louisiana and does not maintain an office there, as required by law.
Since the complaints were filed, Navarro said, UPI applied for a license but was denied.
UPI's attorney, Murphy Foster, argued that Louisiana’s law does not apply because UPI is a “placement agency,†not an “employment agency.â€
Teachers' union lead attorney Dan McNeil presented evidence that UPI and a sister company called PARS collected fees reaching thousands of dollars from the teachers, as well as a 20 percent commission on their first year’s salary, before they even left the Philippines for Louisiana. They were then expected to contribute 10 percent of their second year’s salary as well.
Monaghan branded as irregular and exorbitant the upfront fees collected from the teachers reaching as much as $15,000 each.
"We've learned that the teachers who have been brought to the US through this [recruitment] process have paid $15,000 each for the right to come to the United States to teach," Monagham said.
Those who did not have the resources were directed to FG Financial Company based in Pasig, Metro Manila which was earlier erroneously linked to First Gentleman Juan Miguel "Mike" Arroyo.
Attorneys for the 326 Filipino teachers, who were brought to Louisiana with the promise of high-paying jobs, said the teachers have been charged excessive fees and were losing 20 percent of their income.
Dan McNeil, the lead attorney for the American Federation of Teachers and the LTF, presented evidence that the teachers have paid UPI and an affiliate company reportedly owned by the brother of Lulu Navarro up to $9,000 each for the processing their placement in teaching jobs in Louisiana.
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