Workplace 101: English only practices in the Sacramento workplace

Variety is the spice of life. This is also applies to California. According to census data, California is known as one of the most ethnically diverse states in the nation. Minority groups now make up over half the state's population and nearly half the labor force. Diversity is not the exception, but the rule and a way of life for Sacramento workplaces.

Ironically even in a culturally rich and diverse State as this, legislators still feel compelled to write laws protecting different language use in the workplace. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last Friday that a “Language Protection” Bill authored by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco is heading to Governor Schwarzenegger to sign. This bill if passed will protect the freedom of an individual to speak any language they choose in a business establishment. If passed, the law will make it unlawful if a business "requires, limits or prohibits" the use of any language, except if doing so is a business necessity.

Some argue that this bill is necessary in protecting the rights of customers who speak in different languages. Others argue that this bill will add unwarranted lawsuits to already financially stressed businesses in this State. Regardless, this is not the first law that workplaces must consider in operating in our diverse culture.

Elizabeth Ison, from California based The Ison Law Firm  confirmed, "One of the newest and fastest developing areas of California employment law is the issue of so-called “English-only” practices.” . There are existing federal and state laws that prohibit employers from requiring all employees to speak English in the workplace, as well as few exceptions. Both Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and California’s, Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects employees who have been subject to adverse employment action such as firing or demotion because they speak a foreign language.

So are there any exceptions? There are no easy answers for the question of there being any exceptions to the existing laws. Elizabeth Ison reports “Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules to apply in this situation. Rather, the permissibility of such a policy depends on a number of factors including the nature of the employer’s business, the nature of the employment, the manner of communication between employees and customers, the purpose of the English-only policy, and whether the policy implicates safety issues in the workplace.”

If you do have an English Only policy in your Sacramento Workplace, it might be wise to have it checked by legal counsel.