A housekeeper at a Concord nursing home who was allegedly banned from speaking her native Spanish at work will receive damages as a part of a settlement together with her employer, in keeping with a federal labor regulator.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which announced the settlement, said it investigated and located evidence that Pennsylvania-based Healthcare Services Group had implemented an “English-only” policy in violation of federal civil rights law.
Following this result, the corporate, which operates in 48 states, negotiated with the housekeeper to comply with pay her damages, the commission announced on Wednesday. The amount of the damages and the name of the worker weren’t disclosed.
Employers can impose restrictions on the languages spoken by their employees whether it is vital to conduct business safely or efficiently, but not for discriminatory reasons, says Rosa Salazar, acting director of the agency's Oakland office.
“Customer relationships and customer preferences do not justify discriminatory actions,” Salazar said, adding that the settlement requires the corporate to coach its workforce in California “to recognize and prevent this form of national origin discrimination.”
The company didn’t reply to questions on allegations of an English-only workplace policy.
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