I am pretty sure that New York state is an At-will employment state meaning and employee can be fired without notice, and an employee can quit without notice. Nobody was hurt in this. This reminds of the H1-B visa that brings foreigners to the U.S. to work. Companies have the control, and they can definitely abuse it.

Frank Eltman, Associated Press
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Riverhead , N.Y. -- For months, the nurses complained that they were subject to demeaning and unfair working conditions - not what they were promised when they came to America from the Philippines in search of a better life. So they abruptly quit.


But in doing so, they put more than their careers at risk: Prosecutors hit them with criminal charges for allegedly jeopardizing the lives of terminally ill children they were in charge of watching.


The 10 nurses and the attorney who advised them were charged with conspiracy and child endangerment in what defense lawyers say is an unprecedented use of criminal law in a labor dispute. If convicted of the misdemeanor offenses, they face up to a year in jail on each of 13 counts, and could lose their nursing licenses and be deported.


The nurses claim that they were sent to work at facilities they never signed up for, and made to perform tasks they deemed demeaning and below their job descriptions. There were also disputes about scheduling and pay. Sixteen other nurses and one physical therapist also walked off the job at other facilities, but they were not charged because they did not care for terminally ill children.


The nurses contend they are facing prosecution because influential Democratic officials - Sen. Chuck Schumer and Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota - took interest in the case at the behest of an attorney for Sentosa Health Care, which operates Avalon Gardens.
Entire: Nurses who quit face criminal charges / They are accused of endangering lives of terminally ill kids