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is there an employment lawyer in the house?

juan lesterjuan lester Posts: 321
edited December 2011 in All Encompassing Trip
my wife works for a resort as a group reservations manager. she shares an office with 5 or 6 other employees, and her bosses work out of an adjoining office. my lady is mexican, as is one of the other office folk. recently, she was told "no more spanish" while conversing with her office mate. we're talking regular non-work related conversation, like, "how was the party last weekend? did you like the movie? is your wife feeling better?" etc. she's been written up twice for forgetting 'english-only' - one more and she's out of a job. she's tried to explain that she thinks in spanish and sometimes doesn't know the word in english, but that apparently has fallen upon deaf corporate ears.

also, it's not a company wide rule - only applies to her office, and only applies to spanish, as the head boss lady is filipino and speaks her native language on the phone with her family daily.

is this legal? seems specifically biased and very wrong to me.
uke can save the world
Post edited by Unknown User on

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  • polaris_xpolaris_x Posts: 13,559
    yikes ... i have no expertise on this matter ... sorry ...

    doesn't sound right ... but i'm a socialist so nothing ever sounds right ... ;)

    i would assume it's much easier to say no talking in the office vs. no spanish ...
  • CheeksCheeks Posts: 151
    There a few people in my office who happily chat with eachother in Punjabi... doesn't bother me. A couple of ladies even talk work stuff together in Urdu because they say it is easier for them than having to both mentally trasnlate back and forth. No one complains. They sometimes teach us a few words and then laugh at our terrible pronunciation. :lol:
    I have no idea about the legalities of your wife's situation, but out of interest I did look it up online and found article that may be of some help, even if it is a few years old.

    http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace ... usat_N.htm
  • Green CircleGreen Circle Posts: 5,192
    http://www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk/actions-speak-louder-than-words/

    maybe this will help?
    "...And I fight back in my mind. Never lets me be right.
    I got memories. I got shit so much it don't show."
  • DS1119DS1119 Posts: 33,497
    On a lighter note I work with a bunch of people who speak Gibberish.
  • jimbojones1138jimbojones1138 Posts: 3,640
    wow, thats horrible she isnt allowed to speak spanish.

    what are they thinking writing her up for that? if that is documented on the write up that is so incrimninating for her supervisors. Did she get a copy of the write up?
    it's largely due to eddie that i liked to jump off of things as a child...
  • your move nowyour move now Posts: 1,165
    playing devils advocate here... whilst I totally agree she should be allowed to speak spanish or whatever language she wants I don't necessarily think she should be. I just find it incredibly rude when people speak who speak the same language as you talk in a language you don't understand in front of you. It's really disconcerting and not overly inclusive
    I don't mean to offend anyone, a lot of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt... that said for most of you I'm a stranger on a computer on the other side of the world, don't give me that sort of power!
  • DewieCoxDewieCox Posts: 11,430
    your move now wrote:
    whilst I totally agree she should be allowed to speak spanish or whatever language she wants I don't necessarily think she should be

    Huh??


    juan lester wrote:
    my wife works for a resort as a group reservations manager. she shares an office with 5 or 6 other employees, and her bosses work out of an adjoining office. my lady is mexican, as is one of the other office folk. recently, she was told "no more spanish" while conversing with her office mate. we're talking regular non-work related conversation, like, "how was the party last weekend? did you like the movie? is your wife feeling better?" etc. she's been written up twice for forgetting 'english-only' - one more and she's out of a job. she's tried to explain that she thinks in spanish and sometimes doesn't know the word in english, but that apparently has fallen upon deaf corporate ears.

    also, it's not a company wide rule - only applies to her office, and only applies to spanish, as the head boss lady is filipino and speaks her native language on the phone with her family daily.

    is this legal? seems specifically biased and very wrong to me.

    That seems crazy to me. If it's small talk, not interfering in her work then I don't think they could do anything about it. I could sorta understand it if she's been caught trashing co-workers or doing something kinda negative towards the company, but I don't see how they can just say..."NO SPANISH" especially if the boss uses her native tongue.

    My step family speaks spanish to each other often b/c it's easier or they've used it to talk about private stuff in a sorta public setting. There's been times where it made me a bit uncomfortable, as if they were talking about me but I always told myself if I really wanna get to that conclusion I should learn what they're saying.
  • your move nowyour move now Posts: 1,165
    I'm just saying when you are sometimes the only person in a room who doesn't speak the language of the conversation it's pretty awful and you can't help thinking that it's being done delibrately to keep you out
    I don't mean to offend anyone, a lot of what I say should be taken with a grain of salt... that said for most of you I'm a stranger on a computer on the other side of the world, don't give me that sort of power!
  • BinauralJamBinauralJam Posts: 14,158
    Her Boss cant do that, i would go over her head. After her Boss is made to understand policy i would then demand those two voilations be erased from her record. or Sue.
  • juan lesterjuan lester Posts: 321
    jess meets with hr today, to see if in fact her two 'write ups' are on record, then she meets with the general manager of the whole shootin' match, so good luck to her with that.

    but jeez, is that what this world is coming to? punishment for being bilingual? are other languages really that threatening? aren't we supposed to celebrate our differences, at least somewhat? this whole thing is solely based upon insecurity and fear.

    what's next, punishment for multi-instrumentalists?

    at the show in vancouver, stone and matt switched places on yl, and jeff played guitar, and the solo, for 'smile'. bee girl too. they are all written up to hr, and if they continue to use foreign instruments, they'll be fired. and only songs in english - change ole to "fuck yeah" and no more esta bien, because i might not understand what ed is saying, and i think he might be making fun of me.
    uke can save the world
  • jimbojones1138jimbojones1138 Posts: 3,640
    your move now wrote:
    playing devils advocate here... whilst I totally agree she should be allowed to speak spanish or whatever language she wants I don't necessarily think she should be. I just find it incredibly rude when people speak who speak the same language as you talk in a language you don't understand in front of you. It's really disconcerting and not overly inclusive


    :?
    it's largely due to eddie that i liked to jump off of things as a child...
  • Better DanBetter Dan Posts: 5,684
    your move now wrote:
    playing devils advocate here... whilst I totally agree she should be allowed to speak spanish or whatever language she wants I don't necessarily think she should be. I just find it incredibly rude when people speak who speak the same language as you talk in a language you don't understand in front of you. It's really disconcerting and not overly inclusive


    Completely disagree...If they are speaking Spanish while talking to a co-worker in a non-related work related function then I believe that is their right. We have some native Spanish speakers where I work, and one usually talks on the phone loudly and to some of her friends in Spanish. Someone anonymously complained that there were Spanish speakers speaking in front of non-spanish speakers. Everyone laughed when that complaint was brought up in an office-wide setting...this is an office with about 120-130 people...basically as long as you are professional and get your work done...who cares what language you speak in your free time.
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  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,696
    DS1119 wrote:
    On a lighter note I work with a bunch of people who speak Gibberish.

    On an even lighter note, I work with people who speak Too Much!
  • PJPixiePJPixie Posts: 3,026
    JOEJOEJOE wrote:
    DS1119 wrote:
    On a lighter note I work with a bunch of people who speak Gibberish.

    On an even lighter note, I work with people who speak Too Much!
    lol, you always crack me up!
    The best use of Life is Love.
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