Can an employer require its employees to speak only English in the workplace? Can you deem someone not qualified if he brings a translator to the interview? These are questions that are increasingly coming up in the average Virginia workplace as we become more multi-cultural.
“English-only” refers to policies that restrict employee communication to English in the workplace. The Equal Employment Commission (“EEOC”) frowns upon the use of these policies given the great potential for discrimination against bilingual and non-English speaking employees. Policies requiring employees to speak only English in the workplace at all times, including breaks and lunch, will rarely be justified. The EEOC even presumes that such policies violate Title VII and should be closely scrutinized. Such policies tend to create an “atmosphere of inferiority, isolation, and intimidation based on national origin which could result in a discriminatory working environment.”
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