Human Resource Selection 9th Edition by Marianne Jennings

Exercise 41

English-only policies in the workplace have become the fastest-growing area of EEOC challenges as well as litigation under Title VII. In 1996, the EEOC had 30 discrimination complaints related to Englishonly policies of employers. Since 1996, the EEOC has had a 500 percent increase in those complaints.8 Employers that have implemented English-only policies include the Salvation Army, All-Island Transportation (a Long Island taxi company), a geriatric center in New York, and Oglethorpe University in Atlanta.
One lawyer noted that employers seem more willing to make the policies and risk the legal battles because they think such policies are appropriate and necessary in order to provide adequate customer service, or in the case of health operations such as the geriatric center, correct medical care. Employers are, however, warned by their lawyers that they will have "a target on their backs" if they implement the policies.
A case that an employer lost was Maldonado v City of Altus, 433 F.3d 1294 (10th Cir. 2006). In that case, the city of Altus promulgated an English-only policy that affected 29 of the city's employees, who are Hispanic. All 29 of the employees are fluently bilingual. In the spring of 2002, the city's street commissioner issued a rule that employees in his division could speak only English while on the job. The city's HR director told the commissioner that the policy would be upheld only if limited to when the employees were using the radio to communicate for purposes of cit y business. However, the rule was enforced throughout the workday, even during lunch and breaks. The employees filed suit alleging that the rule created a hostile environment for them. The 10th Circuit agreed with the employees and reversed the summary judgment for the city.
Lawyers offer the following guidelines for enforceable English-only policies:
1. Such policies are permitted if they are needed to promote safe or efficient operations.
2. Such policies are permitted where communication with customers, coworkers, or supervisors who speak only English is also important.
3. Such policies are permitted where there are frequent emergency encounters in which speaking a common language is necessary for purposes of managing such situations.
4. Such policies are necessary in situations in which cooperation and close working relationships demand a common language and some workers speak only English.
Do these language policies create a hostile environment?