According to the New York Law Journal ( 02/27/08) a lawyer that advised ten nurses that they were free to quit their jobs at a Long Island, N.Y. nursing home facility now faces thirteen criminal charges as a result of the nurses walk out. Manhattan based attorney, Felix Q. Vinluan stated "I am really surprised that I am a defendant in this criminal case.I was just doing my job."
However, according to the local district attorney's office the ultimate action of the nurses, walking out, endangered five chronically ill children and one terminally ill man when they left their positions without giving sufficient notice to administrators to find replacements. According to the Suffix County New York Assistant District Attorney, Mr. Vinluan was indited, along with the nurses, because he did more than just advise his clients (the nurses) of their rights. According to the D.A., Mr. Vinluan was an active participant in soliciting the nurses to do what they did. Vinluan's response was that he merely gave the nurses advise, not instructions. Apparently, the nurses, who have been practicing in the U.S. since 2005, complained to attorney Vinluan about receiving substandard pay, shabby living conditions, changes in work assignments and other violations of their three year contracts.
