The EEOC and the federal courts that enforce Title VII are not in complete agreement as to whether a business in the United States can legally require its employees to speak only in English while at the workplace. “English-only” language requirements present a classic disparate-impact situation with respect to national-origin groups whose native language is not English, in comparison to national-origin groups for whom English is their native language. Clearly, it is more likely that individuals in the former group will be disqualified from working for the employer based on the “English-only” rule than individuals in the latter group.
The EEOC has issued regulations taking the position that an employer’s rule requiring employees to speak only English at all times is presumed to violate Title VII. However, several federal circuit Courts of Appeals have held that “English-only” rules are not necessarily illegal discrimination. See, for example, Garcia v. Spun Steak Co., discussed in your text.
What is the reason for these differences in opinion? Even the EEOC recognizes that in some situations at a workplace, an employer’s requirement that English only be spoken is a BFOQ–for example, if the employee is in a position where one of the job requirements is to converse with persons who only speak English. However, the EEOC has taken the position that in many other situations at the workplace, there is no business need for requiring the exclusive use of English by employees–for example, when the employee is on a work break and wants to converse with other employees whose first language is not English, or perhaps the situation where a sales employee and a customer both speak a language other than English as their primary language, and are conversing in the process of completing a sales transaction.
Assuming that the use of English is required in some situations, the employer should limit the English-only requirement to those situations where it is required by business necessity, such as
for communications with customers, co-workers, or supervisors who only speak English
in emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety
for cooperative work assignments
Reasonable exceptions to the rule should be allowed in other appropriate situations, such as during off-duty time at the workplace or perhaps in conversations with supervisors or other employees where both are most comfortable speaking a non-English language and there are not customers or other employees present who would feel isolated or excluded by use of the other language. Finally, the employer should notify employees of the rule and its precise scope in writing in advance of its imposition, give employees a reasonable amount of time to adjust to the rule without issuing discipline for violations, and enforce the rule fairly and consistently.