The Asian Pacific American Legal Center has asked the court to allow the group to join a previous suit against the Delano Regional Medical Center.

The original suit was filed in August by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating that 52 nurses and medical staff were targeted because of their national origin.

"They received different treatment at the work place because of their national origin. They were harassed so when they spoke English, but had an accent they were mocked. It sort of manifested in different things," said Anna Park, regional attorney of the EEOC's Los Angeles district office.

The suit claims workers were not allowed to speak Tagalog and other Filipino languages while allowing non-Filipino employees to speak other languages, such as Spanish. The EEOC contends that hospital management subjected Filipino staff to a hostile working environment by singling them out for reprimands in company meetings, threatening them with audio surveillance and encouraging other staff to report on them.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent future discrimination as well as financial compensation for the employees.