Speak English--or Else!

by Domenico Maceri

Forcing workers to speak English at the job site may lead to a lawsuit for a McDonald's in England. The management of the fast food in Manchester ordered its staff of 70 to speak English and only English, instead of Urdu or Chinese.

In the US, lawsuits because of English-only orders at the job site have been occurring for a number of years. Typically, they involve Spanish-speaking employees suing their companies for forcing them to speak only English at work.

The number of lawsuits related to language discrimination in the US has increased 612% from 1996 to 2002. In all likelihood the increase does not reflect a true picture of the problem since immigrants do not typically speak up, fearing loss of jobs. This is particularly true if immigrants are in the country illegally, making the power differential between employers and workers is greatest.

Employers can legally insist on the exclusive use of English solely if it is a "business necessity" or because of safety issues. However, the law does not allow discrimination based on gender, ethnic, racial, or linguistic background.

Some employers ask their workers to speak English even when they are on their breaks or at lunchtime. In some cases this leads to humiliation and degradation because people view their language as their identity.

It happened to Aurora-Luz Ornelas and Guadalupe Coronado. Their boss at the Family Dollar Store in Colorado forbade them to speak Spanish. It's ironic that the two employees were told not to speak Spanish considering that the clientele at the store is primarily Latino. Ornelas and Coronado sued the company when they were fired along with five other Spanish-speaking colleagues.

In another case, a Colorado McDonald's was sued when management asked workers to deposit 25 cents into an "English-only cup" every time they spoke Spanish.

Making arbitrary rules, which go against the law, can be very expensive. In a recent case, a lawsuit was settled for $ 1.5 million in Colorado. The Black Hawk Casino had required cleaning staff to speak only English at the job site.

Although there may be some instances of dangers emerging when some people speak a language other than English at work, in many cases, having a bilingual staff makes for more business.

If a McDonald's attracts a lot of Spanish-speaking customers, it's desirable to have a staff speaking their language. Indeed, some companies realize it and are willing to pay bilingual workers extra because of their linguistic ability.

Other companies accept their workers limited linguistic skills and provide English classes at the job site. Employees appreciate that and develop more of a sense of loyalty to the company. At the same time, as employees learn English, they can become more productive for the company.

Some other companies try to have Spanish classes at the job site so that their English-only employees can learn another language, particularly if some of their clientele is not fluent in English. In some cases the bosses learn their workers' language, showing a deep interest in the immigrant culture. Sometimes even a mere "Buenos Dias" has a very positive effect on workers.

Language is very important to people because it's part of their identity. People are not objects you can just change as you wish. Smart companies learn about their employees and work to use their talents, linguistic and otherwise, for everyone's benefit.

In the US, some people believe that you must speak English for everything. And if you don't, you get no services. This line of thinking may lead companies to infringe on their workers' rights and freedom of speech. That's where the law comes in.

Laws protecting immigrant language rights reflect the best of America. It's one of the many reasons people continue to come to the US.

Domenico Maceri, PhD, teaches foreign languages at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, CA. His articles have appeared in many newspapers and some have won awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications.