NIE project
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Transcript of NIE project
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, using
authority it has had for more than a quarter-century, sued
the Salvation Army last year over its requirement that
employees in its office in Framingham, Mass., speak only
English on the job — a requirement that cost two Spanish-
speaking clothing sorters their jobs. The suit has landed in
the middle of the virulent national debate
over immigration and assimilation.
“Hot and bothered” would be a way to describe the
political climate of the issue, said Reed Russell, legal
counsel of the E.E.O.C.
Under the Civil Rights Act, rules limiting which languages
can be spoken in a workplace are allowed only if they are
non-discriminatory and if they serve a clear business or
safety purpose. In 2004, the Salvation Army decided to
enforce an English-only rule after the sorters had been
working in the Framingham store for several years, the
commission’s complaint said. The commission found no
such reason for the limitation. A Salvation Army
spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of the
case, which is pending, but the organization says it
believes there is no legal basis for the suit.
“This bill’s not about affecting people’s lunch hour or
coffee break — it’s about protecting the rights of
employers to ensure their employees can communicate
with each other and their customers during the working
Certainly, safety issues arise in some workplaces. The
Federal Aviation Administration, for example,
requires air traffic controllers to “be able to speak
English clearly enough to be understood over radios,
intercoms, and similar communications equipment.”
Managers may also need employees who can speak
English to English-speaking customers. And they may
hear complaints if English-speaking employees say
they feel excluded or gossiped about when colleagues
converse in another language. Such situations, in
fact, gave rise to English-only rules in the first place.
“When employers call, asking if they can implement
English usage rules, it’s usually because they have
safety concerns,” said Wendy Krincek, a lawyer at
Littler Mendelson, an employment law firm. “Or they
have Spanish speakers and non-Spanish-speaking
employees think they’re being talked about, or
supervisors only speak English and they are
monitoring how people speaking Spanish interact
with co-workers and customers. You’ve got to show a
business necessity.”
Job for English English for job
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But from a management standpoint, these rules should be a
last resort.
Good management depends on communication in every
direction. If some employees are more comfortable speaking
a language other than English, particularly over lunch or
during breaks, and it has no effect on customers or safety or
ability to function, it is hard to see the purpose of cutting that
off. It is also hard to see how conversing in a foreign
language is more off-putting than endless tapping on a
BlackBerry.
Nonetheless, in a study of Latina executives published last
October by the Centre for Work-Life Policy, many said they
refrained from speaking Spanish at work because they felt
that doing so would hurt them professionally.
One respondent, a Dominican marketing executive at a
consumer products company, said her company discouraged
her from speaking Spanish to Latin American customers —
even though, she said, it helped her build relationships with
them.
Wachovia, the bank based in Charlotte, N.C., has some
experience, albeit indirect, with English-only rules. In the
1990s, First Union, a bank later acquired by The Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, using authority it has
had for more than a quarter-century, sued the Salvation
Army last year over its requirement that employees in its
office in Framingham, Mass., speak only English on the job —
a requirement that cost two Spanish-speaking clothing
sorters their jobs. The suit has landed in the middle of the
virulent national debate over immigration Wachovia, was
Our receptionist is terrific at ensuring employee's special events are marked with a greeting card, signed by staff. Most occasions are birthdays, but recently a sympathy card did the rounds when someone's father died. An employee was on his way out the door when he swiftly scrawled a message. "Here's to another one," he wrote blithely, "with many more to come!"
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Get hired with English. Likeaboss.Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work
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