A lawsuit claims that a San Diego Albertson’s created a a hostile work environment for some employees by implementing a no-Spanish language policy.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the suit which alleges that store managers publicly reprimanded Hispanic employees who were caught speaking Spanish, according to Supermarket News:
Specifically, the complaint alleges that, starting in late 2012, the retailer prohibited Hispanic employees in San Diego from speaking in Spanish around people who don’t speak the language, including when they talked to Spanish-speaking customers and during breaks. Managers publicly reprimanded Hispanic employees caught speaking Spanish, and — despite numerous employee complaints — no corrective action was taken, forcing employees to transfer, the EEOC contends.
Albertsons’s released a statement saying it does not require English-only
“Albertsons serves a diverse customer population and encourages employees with foreign language abilities to use those skills to serve its customers,” the statement said.
The EEOC says the grocery store violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
