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Can a warehouse make it a legal policy that all employees must speak no spanish at all??
Asked by Anaiza
The manager was also talking about how Mexicans are getting free money and food off of the government.
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Best Answer:
Absolutely not! You have the right to speak your native language where ever and whenever you want, with the exception of government agencies. Your manager is of questionable character and won't make it far.
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I don't think that is legal, though it may be a company policy. Sounds like he's just racist.
Answered by mairdo51
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I don't know that it is legal, but maybe he can require that everyone speaks English... As far as him bad mouthing other races, perhaps he will get a reality check when someone sues him for harrassment.
Answered by EK
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They can't make that policy, it is illegal. They can make a policy that any conversation pertaining to work must be in English, but not a policy of no Spanish at all.
I would get with some co-workers, and find a lawyer and file a class action law suit against the warehouse, and also the company that owns the ware house. It would be a slam dunk win!!!!!
Answered by olando505
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I am ignoring the comment about Mexicans getting free money, because I can tell you that is a racist comment from the get go.
However, as to your other question, I don't know if it is legal, but it is definitely reasonable.
In this country we have the right to free speech and the expression of tradition, ethnicity and culture, however, this is till the united states of America, and the national language is English.
I highly doubt that the boss was saying that if you were employed there you could never speak any Spanish at all ever again. you boss cannot tell you that you cannot speak Spanish while on your break, off the job, or in your home of community because that is your time.
However, your boss can instruct you to speak only in English while on the job, because you hold an American job. the only exception would be if you had a Spanish speaking client/customer/patient. then, it would be an asset to the company if you could speak both Spanish and English. However, speaking Spanish while on the job at in a non-Spanish speaking community (a place where your primary clients would be non-Spanish speaking individuals) would pretty much be pointless, unless you were trying not to be heard saying something you were not supposed to say. It would serve no purpose relevant to the job, I think that is probably why your boss is trying to make it so that you cannot speak Spanish on th job.
Not because he is against Spanish speaking people's (although it does sound like he is a bit racist), but because it serves no purpose in the workplace with the clientèle you serve.
Answered by Ginni
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The employer might mandate that all conversation on the job be in a common language so that nobody would feel excluded, so that there would be no opportunity to plan bad actions in plain view.
There is no way that an employer could legally prohibit speaking Spanish off the job. But that does not mean that the employer could not lay off, or put on very short hours, anyone he knows does so. By simply failing to offer hours, the employer can induce people to quit.
So, legal or not, employers can get rid of people they choose to get rid of.
If this is how it works, one has to find out whether this boss has support of owners. Getting this boss canned may be the only way to deal with it. If owners agree, you may have to organize a boycott.
Answered by donfletcheryh
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I don't mean to burst your bubble, but even if you win, you will lose. Find another place to work and keep your mouth shut.
Full explanation: If you complain about the manager, you will not get him/her fired. The manager MIGHT go to some type of sensitivity training, but it is not going to change his/her beliefs. You will be branded as a complainer. You will also make an enemy of that manager and all of his/her cronies. It is only a matter of time before they find some reason (probably bogus) to fire you. You get hurt two ways: (1) you are out of a job, and (2) you don't get good references.
On another note, warehouses in which everyone does not speak the same language all the time are potentially deadly. I used to design/build sorting systems and software for warehouses, so I spent a lot of time in MANY different companies, in different parts of the US (and Mexico). Warehouses are dangerous. In a crisis (like a pallet falls from a forklift or a forklift crashes into a rack), people yell things like "watch out" and "move." If some speak little English, these terms are meaningless and someone will get badly hurt. Would it be better if everyone was bi-lingual? Yes. But it is NOT going to happen in your shop.
Answered by Jeffrey C
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