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<h1 class="gmail-text-serif gmail-m-0">Q&A with Kristin Simpsen: English-only policies may discriminate, EEOC warns</h1>
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<span class="gmail-">Published: <span class="gmail-text-muted">Wed, June 6, 2018 5:00 AM</span></span>
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<figcaption class="gmail-caption gmail-small gmail-text-muted gmail-mt-2"><p>Kristin Simpsen is a labor and employment attorney with McAfee & Taft.</p></figcaption>
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<p><strong>Q: A video recently went viral that showed a
restaurant patron ranting about how he thought the Manhattan eatery's
“staff should be speaking English,” not Spanish. Is there anything that
prevents an employer from requiring its employees to speak English?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> Interestingly, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) recently filed suit in the Southern District of
California alleging that Albertsons Companies Inc. violated federal law
when it implemented a policy that prohibited Hispanic employees from
speaking Spanish around non-Spanish speakers, including when they spoke
to Spanish-speaking customers and during breaks. The EEOC also contends
that the employer's managers publicly reprimanded Hispanic employees for
speaking Spanish. Finally, the EEOC alleges that the employer acted
improperly by failing to take corrective action after multiple employee
complaints. In the lawsuit, the EEOC seeks injunctive relief aimed at
preventing discrimination in the future. The EEOC also seeks back pay
and compensation for non-pecuniary losses for a class of employees who
were allegedly discriminated against by the implementation of this
policy.</p>
<p><strong>Q: What is the EEOC's position on English-only language policies?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> Title VII of the Civil Rights Act doesn't
specifically prohibit English-only language policies. Nevertheless, the
EEOC has taken the position that English-only language policies have the
potential to discriminate on the basis of national origin, which would
be a Title VII violation. The EEOC's guidance provides that a blanket
requirement that employees speak only English is presumed to violate
Title VII. Language-restrictive policies may be utilized “only to those
specific employment situations for which they are needed to promote safe
and efficient job performance or business operations.” The EEOC has
stated that the following business necessities could justify an
English-only policy: Communications with customers, co-workers, or
supervisors who only speak English; in emergencies or other situations
in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety; for
cooperative work assignments in which the English-only rule is needed to
promote efficiency; and to enable a supervisor who only speaks English
to monitor the performance of an employee whose job duties require
communication with co-workers or customers.</p>
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<p><strong>Q: Can employers make employment decisions based on an employee's accent?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> According to the EEOC, an employer only should
make an employment decision based on an individual's accent if the
person's accent “interferes materially with job performance.” To satisfy
this standard, the EEOC states that the employer must show that
effectively speaking English is required to perform the job duties, and
that the individual's accent materially interferes with his or her
ability to communicate in spoken English.</p>
<p><strong>Q: What does the EEOC's guidance mean for employers?</strong></p>
<p><strong>A:</strong> Employers may adopt and enforce an English-only
policy as long as the policy was not put in place for the purpose of
discriminating against employees on the basis of their race or national
origin, and the policies were adopted to further a legitimate business
interest of the employer. If an employer chooses to implement such a
policy, the employer still should permit employees to speak their native
language where English isn't required for legitimate business purposes,
such as when the employee is on break. Importantly, employers must give
sufficient notice of a restrictive language policy by informing
employees about the new language policy and the consequences for
violating it. Finally, it's important to remember that because the EEOC
strongly disfavors English-only policies, the policy will be
aggressively scrutinized if challenged.</p></div>
<br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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