Filipino teachers to receive money from 2012 decision
NEW ORLEANS- About 350 teachers recruited in the Philippines to work in Louisiana schools are set to receive roughly $2,200 each from a 2012 federal court decision against a California placement agency.
The American Federation of Teachers, the Southern Poverty Law Center and others had sued on behalf of teachers who complained about thousands of dollars in fees charged by Universal Placement International. Advocates said many of the teachers wound up in substandard housing.
An SPLC attorney says the money is being distributed following legal proceedings involving foreclosure and sale of some of agency owner Lourdes Navarro's property.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers, which also pursued action on behalf of the teachers, said the Filipinos worked in Caddo, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson and Avoyelles parishes and state-run schools in New Orleans.