Can an employer require workers to speak only in English?
Sometimes, says the government - as long as there's a work-related reason, such as communicating with clients or maintaining safety.
The issue flared up last year after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Salvation Army, which fired two Hispanic workers in Massachusetts for failing to learn English. That, the EEOC said, constituted discrimination "on the basis of their national origin."
The action against the religious charity incensed some politicians and touched off a campaign in Washington to give employers more freedom to adopt "English only" rules.
The latest bill in the House would permit employers "to require employees to speak English while engaged in work."
U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-4th District, is one of its most forceful supporters.
"I think it's more than fair to say to people: If you want to work for an employer, that employer ought to be able to ask you to learn English," he said. "There are all kinds of reasons. You might have a customer base that speaks English. Or what happens if you have an injury in the workplace and you can't communicate with the person who is injured?"
Alicia Fernandez-Bobulinski, an activist on immigration issues in Virginia Beach, worries that the bill would exacerbate anti-immigrant fervor.
"Some of the people in power are knee-jerking and not really thinking things through properly, because we are a land of immigrants," she said. "We, as Americans, need to stop being afraid and say, 'Hey, we can take this on. We're able to be multilingual.' "
The bill, she said, would discourage the hiring of immigrants at a time when businesses need more people fluent in languages.
Instead, Forbes said, the bill would make employers more comfortable hiring foreign workers. They would know they could require them to speak English without fear of litigation.
Forbes said his involvement was triggered mostly by pique at the Salvation Army case. But he's heard from local employers who think "we have the right to have employees speak or understand English," he said.
Representatives of three local businesses, as well as Bank of America Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said they did not have English-only policies. Most did not consider it a concern. A handful of other local companies did not respond to inquiries.
"Our folks, when they come for employment, know that's how we do our business," said Joe Thomas, regional vice president for the Geico insurance center in Virginia Beach. "We're an English-speaking company because that's what most of our customers are. It really is a nonissue."
At Daniels BigEye Seafood, a seafood market in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., "I just need good workers and people that show up," co-owner Patricia Lake said. Employees who deal with customers are expected to speak English, she said, but Daniels has no formal policy.
Forbes doesn't hide his ire with the EEOC. He noted that "English only" complaints filed with the agency grew sixfold since 1996.
But agency spokesman David Grinberg said the 190 "English only" filings last year constituted a fraction of 1 percent of the 83,000 complaints received on alleged workplace discrimination.
"It's just not something we see a lot of," he said.
Furthermore, he said, the EEOC filed only two suits challenging English-only policies last year.
Forbes said numbers matter less than principle.
"Just because something is wrong, you can't sit back and say, 'Let's not deal with it, because 200,000 people aren't involved,' " he said.
In the Salvation Army lawsuit, the agency challenged the firings of women from the Dominican Republic and El Salvador who worked as clothes sorters in a thrift store.
They "worked commendably and without incident for at least five years, rel ying on Spanish as their principal means of workplace communication," the EEOC said.
They were fired for not learning English, the suit said, though that "was unrelated to the job they had been performing."
The Salvation Army did not respond to an e-mail.
EEOC guidelines allow English-only policies for a "business necessity," such as "communications with customers" or "to promote safety."
The complaints the agency pursues, Grinberg said, tend to involve "blanket English-only policies. We've seen cases where employees were fired for speaking Spanish outside the building or saying 'good morning' in Spanish."
Lawyer Timothy McConville said he advises employers that English-only policies should be "job-related and consistent with business necessities," such as working in sales with English-speaking customers.
"A policy that prohibits employees from speaking any language other than English at all times is going to be problematic," said McConville, with Willcox & Savage in Norfolk.
Dean Buckius, with Vandeventer Black LLP in Norfolk, tells clients: "Think long and hard before you adopt such a rule. If it's challenged, you will have an uphill battle. Is it a matter of convenience or is there a real business reason for it?"
Most of the time, "they reach the conclusion that they could probably do without it and it's probably not worth the risk," Buckius said.
Forbes is among 109 co-sponsors of the bill, including Reps. Thelma Drake, R-2nd District, and Rob Wittman, R-1st District. Forbes acknowledged it faces long odds in the Democrat-led House.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd District, expressed skepticism of the bill "because it's unclear how it changes present law," he said. "Present law allows English-only requirements when there is a business rationale.
"To the extent that you allow English-only policies when there is no rationale, you open up the possibility of inappropriate discrimination based on national origin."
Of 10 people interviewed in Norfolk, all backed the bill.
"We are a melting pot, and we have a lot of different nationalities," said Roy Gooden, a nurse from Portsmouth. "But we need to have a commonality in what we speak, and English should be it."
Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
It is really stupid that we
It is really stupid that we even have to have this argument! When language matters, it matters! Do you want a doctor who does not speak the same language as the nurses? Do you care that your garbage man, whom you never speak to because you are never at home when he comes around, speaks English? So what kind of a job can one who does not speak English expect to get? One that the customer does not communicate him. Very simple and has nothing to do with bigotry.
CoolGuy
I think it's quite fair, bottom line, to compare one neighbor to another when it comes to the ability to learn our language. Canadians are not smarter than Latinos. It doesn't take a fortune to learn to speak English. And I'm sorry that Mexico and other South American countries are so poor. Perhaps THEIR governments should do something about that. Frankly I see to much poverty right here in America. There are entire Indian nations that don't do the gambling thing and they are barely getting by. Kids are sleeping on the streets, people are losing jobs they've been doing for 20 years because of outsourcing. I can't feel sorry for the rest of the world because I feel too sorry for actual citizens of this country. Maybe we should fix our own backyard before we try fixing everyone elses. But no. America is the land of opportunity and wide open borders. We like to give away our nonexistent money to count
English Language
Fire them all for NOT speaking English. I've been in stores when the store representative waiting on me could not understand me. It's very frustrating to call a store and have to hang up because they could not understand English enough to let me talk to someone else. FIRE THEM ALL FOR NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH!!!!!
marym
It was actually mostly just New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. Relative to the size of the cession, Mexicans were very sparsely populated, estimated to be less then 30,000 in the complete territory (likely more Native Americans were living in the territory at the time), and many of those, primarily in Texas and California, did speak English.
History Mary...
We paid Mexico after the war. We paid 15 million for the territory and we forgave 3 1/4 million in Mexican Debt.
We're the only country that I know of that pays for territory won in a war.
60willy
Yeah, English is dying. The only reason its the "universal" language, is because English speaking countries have been able to economically strong arm the globe for the past 250 years, first England, then the United States. Then again, Greek, Latin, and French all enjoyed similiar periods to what English is right now to the globe, and guess what, they fizzled out when they died, or the primary country of origin ceased to be a major world player. If English loses its foothold in the US, which it almost certainly will within the next 100 years calculating the meteoric rise of Spanish first language speakers, English will certainly lose its place at the table on the global playing field.
Just one historical reminder . . .
It has been awhile (before the Civil War) but the Mexican-American War resulted in our taking as the spoils of war a huge chunk of what was formerly Mexican land (other historians, correct me here, but Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and perhaps more). At the time, that was about 25% of the United States (till we got Alaska and Hawaii). Those folks, through no fault of their own, *were* Spanish-speaking people who happened to have been *born* in Mexico and to have *died* in America, sometimes without ever moving from one house to another! Granted, it has been 150 years, so even hearing from some of you that your *grandparents* spoke only Spanish seems a bit much!
That would be our situation synonymous with Quebec in Canada and its 15% chunk of the population that speaks French (and, by the way, we have bilingual French signs at the Oceanfront for just those very folks, who often come to our beaches). I agree about English, but not everyone who can't speak it is illegal. Cheers, MGM
I'm with Sarah on this one
I speak four other languages besides English and have lived and worked in the countris where they are spoken. If I, an American born and raised in Virginia can do that, then these immigrants certainly can. It's an affront to their very own countrymen when they think they can change our rules to suit them.
Pilot Big Brother
For some reason, the Pilot Big Brother machine thinks all my messages need to be censored, but I am going to weigh in once more regarding the last few comments by others.
Spanish-speaking folks may not be able to learn the language, maybe they are too lazy, who knows? I do, however, agree with you that printing instructions in English and Spanish is an insult to this great country. Further, if you can't speak the language, go home or learn it! End of story.
The surest way to destroy this country (any country) is to allow a number of little countries within it. That is exactly what the liberal media, liberal politicians, and those companies and groups do when bowing to idiotic pressure to conform to those coming INTO the country. This is our country (all of ours); if you like it, do it our way! If you don't, pack your stuff up and go home!
Unfortunately, it will be far too late when the liberals realize w
Lingua Franca
English truly is the Lingua Franca today. It is by no means dying.
If you fly an airplane internationally, you know that English is the international language of air traffic controllers. Same with port authorities.
I had a friend ask me why I am not teaching my child Spanish, my response was Spanish is not spoken in the Courtrooms, boardrooms, and surgical suites in this country. I want my child to excel. He speaks English.
You want to live and work here?
Pay taxes and speak english or if not on both then get out we don't need you.
Celtic
On the Canadian thing, thats not fair to compare Canadians, who would have to do little to assimilate here, to Mexicans, or other hispanics. Nor is it fair to compare Canada, which has a tremendous economy, to the poverty of Mexico, and other latin countries. The average Canadian, or European even, that comes here is more equipped and prepaired then the average hispanic to directly assimilate, and they more often then not come to the US by choice then by economic duress.
It's About Time ! ! !
At one time we were ALL immigrants! I have nothing at all against immigrants. Nothing except that I think they should be legal. The language in America is English. You want to come here to the home of the free and more opportunity? Then come legally and learn our language. You can still use yours, but here we speak English (more or less). Be a part of our country. We welcome you. But pay taxes like all the rest of us. Why should I pay the taxes for someone who doesn't even want to be here - just wants to "use" our country to make money (which takes the jobs away from our citizens), but doesn't want to become a part of us? If you love America - I really do welcome you. But don't try to start another country inside of this one! That's where civil wars come from! It CANNOT be done! And it SHOULDN'T be done! We're proud of who we are, with our melting-pot of people! But to stay a country, we have to be at least somewhat connected. If you come here wanting your own little country, with your own towns, and your own languages, then please just stay home.
Way To Go!
You want to live and work in this country - speak English. No ands, if, or buts. I we were meant to bend to all these foreign languages then the Constitution and Declaration of Independence would have been written in English, French, and Spanish (the big powers in that time).
silcnlayc
Kool Aid? Why dont you check the facts. The fastest growing segment of the United States, and the ONLY one keeping the US from having a negative population growth is hispanics, many of which speak Spanish as a first or only language. Native English populations of Canada, India Africa, and the UK are stagnant or declining. Those countries too, are being pulled along by influxes of non native English speakers.
Secondly, the English language does NOT define the US. The underlying laws and principles the country was founded on can be translated to any language. Nothing the US is as a country is dependent on the English language.
"Coolguy says:English is a
"Coolguy says:English is a dying language"
What flavor of kool aid you drinking and what was in it? English is an ever changing language which is still growing and flourishing. English will never die because it does encompasses many different dialects of slang, proper and made up words that have been accepted as english and added to our ever changing dictionary of words.
We have always had pockets of other nationalities speaking the same languages in their own nieghborhoods but when dealing with the public, each and everyone of these immigrants knew how to speak english.
What is so hard about wanting to speak the language of the country you choose to become a citizen in? You did not come here to embrace spanish, german, hungarian, italian, you came here to "embrace" america and ENGLISH. So do it!Or go back to the country you wish to call your own if you feel you can't call America your home. and use the language of THIS land.
CoolGuy
My reasoning may be flawed...but it doesn't change the law. Immigrants interested in becoming citizens of the US are required to learn to speak English, which is our countries language due to the mostly European immigrants that originally settled this country. Which, by the way, is in North America. Not South, not Central. And, while Spanish may be the second most spoken language in the world, I didn't see it start popping up all over the place (verbally and visually) until we had a large latino population start living in our country. I don't think that it is too much to ask that they conform to the immigration policy like every other foreign language speaking person has been required to do. And "Additionally, English is widely spoken in most of Canada, and French remains popular only in the Quebec province, and less then 15% of the population can only speak French. So Canada is an irrevalent principle for your argument. Most Canadians could easily assimilate in to the US with little to no change required." My point exactly. They would speak English. No special signs needed.
If you..
came from another country, speak a foreign language & have no plans of learning & speaking English, please leave. We have no use for those that have such disregaurd for our culture & laws. God knows we have enough of them already. But, If you'd like to learn & speak English like the rest of us, by all means, stay awhile. You may find out that English isn't so bad. I've used it for 44 years & it's never let me down in the Good Ol' USA!!!! Don't knock it 'til you try it!!!!
Language
I learned to speak German and when I lived in Germany, they were so appreciative of it. They did like to practice their English on me, but they were so pleased that I took the time to learn to live in their country. I am like-wise pleased when immigrants (doesn't matter from what country) learn English. I don't care if they make grammar mistakes or forget words. I went on to teach German and am fascinated by languages.
When I went on vacation in Mexico & the Caribbean most of the people working in tourist areas spoke English as a second language. No one required them to do that. They wanted to make more money and have more opportunities, so they learned it. It isn't hard to learn another language when you want to better yourself. You'll make a better living by being so versatile.
I grew up in Northeast Colorado and my best friend is Mexican. Her grandmother spoke no English. Her parents and her are bilingual. That is a family that did it the "right way." I just can't understand why foreigners don't learn the language of the country they are moving to. Wouldn't it be frustrating? You can still keep your culture, language and traditions, but also take interest in the new countr
Melissa
English is a dying language. Almost every country listing English as an official language has a negative natural population, or close to a negative natural population increase. The only reason the US is growing at all is because of immigration, and children of immigrants. I wonder what you are going to say if you live long enough to see the day when 50% of your neighbors or more are communicating in languages other then English wherever you go. Are you going to move to England?
Bigot
It isn't the offical language. People are free to speak what language they want. Although almost all business is conducted in English, so it is to everyone's benefit to learn English.
I like how some of the "bigots" below make "biggoted" comments, then say . . I'm not a bigot.
Job requirement
The ability to speak English should be protected as a job requirement. If you can't type, you don't get a job as a secretary (they still have those right?). If you can't lift heavy things, don't get a job in a wharehouse. If you don't have a 98 mph fastball, you won't get signed to a MLB contract. You get the point. Arragato and Adios mon amie.
Last time I checked, this
Last time I checked, this was America & the language spoken here is English. Not Spanish, Italian, German or whatever. If you want to live here, learn to speak English. Now call me a bigot...
Celtic
Your logic is absolutely flawed. The Spanish language prevelence in the US has nothing to do with Mexico being our neighbor. First of all, Spanish is a primary language throughout most of Central and South America and the Carribean, making it the second most spoken native language on the globe. Second of all, there are first generation immigrants from every one of those countries here right now. Additionally, English is widely spoken in most of Canada, and French remains popular only in the Quebec province, and less then 15% of the population can only speak French. So Canada is an irrevalent principle for your argument. Most Canadians could easily assimilate in to the US with little to no change required.
This is America, isn't it???
Helloooo? The good 'ole USA! The official language of the US is English. There is nothing more annoying than going into a public business and having the employees speak a foreign language amongst themselves. It is just plain rude. There are plenty of Americans who speak their native language at home and outside the workplace (ex. Greek, Italian, Chinese)to educate their children of their family's culture. That is great and the perfect place to teach. It is not discrimination to insist that if your employer wants you to speak English at work, that you abide by the rules or go home! It is the same as a dress code, coming to work on time, just plain following the rules! It seems there are so many excuses nowadays to not follow the rules, no wonder our society is having a total nervous breakdown!
William P
On the surface this seems like its just making it so employers cant be sued for discrimination based on language. I think thats ok if English is essential to the job, and that fact is made clear during the hiring process.
However, how it will be used is to force those hired who cant speak english to learn english at the peril of losing their job, and will shield the employer from any kind of discrimination retaliation. Wow, a law forcing your illegals to upgrade their skills at their expense under economic duress, and you still get to pay them dirt wages.......who could this law possibly be benefiting?
Language in America
It should be English. America is a land of immigrants, but it has it's majority base in European immigrants. That was and is the language that this country was/has been founded on. Deal with it. I'm so tired of our government always trying to do the right thing by everyone. It can't be done, so therefore it wastes time and money, which is in short supply right now. Part of coming to this country and becoming a citizen is the requirement to learn to speak/read English and that is as it should be. There has to be a commonality and English is it. If you can't speak it, then you don't become a citizen. That is the law, right? If a person were living in France, they would learn to speak French, or if I were to move to Mexico, I would learn Spanish. It makes sense. Just because Mexico is our neighbor doesn't mean that Americans should have to deal with Spanish. Canada is our neighbor too, but I don't see all our signs in French, do you? English in the American workplace is not discriminatory.
Freedom of speach is not language specific
ALTHOUGH one would think if you are in a different country it would better your position if you spoke the language..that way there are no misunderstandings..no embarrassing moments..I mean if you plan to stay...At some point manners would be involved..it would be impolite to speak in a different language to someone when other people are in the same room with you that dont understand what your saying..They might just think you are talking about them..Im sure everyone has been in this type of environment...say 7-11 at the counter or down the street at Ha-Bebs...you no where foreigners work I may not believe in your beliefs but I will defend them to my death speak what you want I only understand english in the United States
Simple Craziness
How can an employer requiring an employee to be able to understand them or their customers be a bad thing or against the law? Business owners should have the right to determine conditions of employment as long as they are not discriminatory (based on current law). Being able to communicate is the key to safety and success in any business. If we go down the road of not allowing business owners to be able to establish language skills as a condition of employment next will be a law requiring business owners to speak the 5 different languages before being able to get a business license so they can communicate instructions to all their employees.
kstebritz
Many call centers are based outside the US, that is why when you call them you get associates who speak poor English. The US can do little about things based in foreign countries, but if all these "free trade" agreements didnt help companies farm their labor out whole sale, we wouldnt have such problems.