Can I Demand that My Employees Speak Only English at Work?

Question: Can I Demand that My Employees Speak Only English at Work?

it's common for employers to have employees who speak languages other than English, but what are the rules and how can an employer ensure that work gets done, customer service doesn't suffer and no one in the workplace is offended? Bonnie Stewart, the Vice President of the Human Resource Service Department of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association offers a few tips.

Answer: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may consider an English-only policy to be discrimination and a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

EEOC Guidelines

The EEOC’s Guidelines on Discrimination based on National Origin make the following points about English-only rules:

• If a rule requires employees to speak only English at all times in the workplace, the EEOC will presume the rule violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  
• An English-only rule that applies only at certain times is acceptable if “the employer can show that the rule is justified by business necessity.”
  
• An employer who has a justifiable business reason for an English-only rule that’s limited to certain times must notify employees in advance of the type of situations when speaking English is required and of the consequences for violating the rule. If the employer does not notify employees and then makes an adverse employment decision against one of them for failing to speak English, the EEOC “will consider the employer’s application of the rule as evidence of discrimination.”

If you'd like to adopt a language policy in your business, here are some tips:

• Determine if there is a problem with the status quo. Employees’ use of different languages may not be currently interfering with your company’s interests. Also remember that morale is often higher when employees are allowed to speak their native languages.
  
• If there is a problem and you want to adopt an English-only rule, be sure you have a legitimate, nondiscriminatory business reason for it - safety concerns, the avoidance of sexual harassment or the need to serve English-speaking customers.
  
• Rather than ban the use of other languages at all times, limit the ban to those times when you have a clear business reason for it.
  
• Make sure your English-only policy is in writing and that employees are notified of it.

source: The Westchester County Business Journal, November 2002

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