Attorney Ricardo A. Guarnero Announces Additional Claims in Class Action Lawsuit Against Spacelabs Medical Inc.

Business Editors, Legal Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2001

Ricardo A. Guarnero, Seattle attorney, announced today that they have filed additional claims in a class action lawsuit against Spacelabs Medical, Inc. of Redmond, Wash.

The claims state that Hispanic-Latinos were instructed by Spacelabs that they were forbidden to speak Spanish while working at Spacelabs. The alleged prohibition on speaking Spanish was enforced by verbal warnings, an automatic letter of warning and the threat of other disciplinary actions. The prohibition against Spanish was memorialized in memorandums by managers of Spacelabs including a memorandum signed by the chief executive officer, Carl Lombardi. The alleged prohibition on speaking Spanish was discriminatorily applied as it was only enforced against Hispanics and on knowledge and belief no such prohibition was propounded against Filipinos, Vietnamese, Chinese or groups from other national origins.

Additionally, the suit claims that Defendants created a hostile work environment against Hispanics; Defendants tolerated, had knowledge, failed to discipline and were aware that Anglo-American workers mimicked Hispanics speaking Spanish and allowed the use of derogatory remarks against Hispanic-Latino employees of Defendant Spacelabs. The claim alleges that Defendants created a hostile work environment and tolerated, encouraged or failed to stop the use of derogatory remarks against Hispanics. Among the derogatory remarks allegedly made by management personnel of Spacelabs, were the following:

a) Hispanics do not have the brains to do the work

b) Hispanics cannot be promoted because they "do not speak good

English"

c) "Hispanics are not as smart as Asians" and so cannot be given

titles commensurate with the technical work performed.

d) "It smells like brown people"

The suit alleges that Spacelabs systematically discriminated against Hispanic-Latino workers by paying them less than other workers; failing to promote them; denied overtime; denied training opportunities; paid less than similarly situated or less qualified Caucasians; retaliated against them for challenging unauthorized practices; judged Hispanics by a different set of standards than applied to similarly situated or less qualified Caucasians; demoted or assigned to less favorable shifts, work areas or facilities. The lawsuit is on behalf of all Hispanics employed by Defendant since March 16, 1996. The case is captioned Hernandez et.al., v. Spacelabs Medical, Inc., King County Superior Court Number 01-2-07975-1 SEA.