The Latino man is afraid that if he speaks his native language on the job he'll get fired.
The middle-aged Latino woman spends her day hoping her boss doesn't hear her speaking Spanish.
And a 20-something Latino woman is tired of hearing her boss say, "English, please."
They work at Estee Lauder's manufacturing plant in Bristol Township, and they have requested anonymity.
Estee Lauder has implemented a speak-English-only rule at its Sinclair Street site, which goes under the name Northtec LLC and has more than 1,000 employees. Company officials say their other North American sites, including another in Bristol and one in Trevose, have the same English-only rule.
Company officials say it was implemented mainly for safety reasons, that such a policy is a "necessity" in a plant loaded with large machinery. As a concession, the company says it offers employees classes in English, although they aren't held onsite.
"We have it for their own protection," said company spokeswoman Karen O'Connor. "It's also used as courtesy to others. The workers prefer English to maintain cohesive units. It makes people feel more included. We have no fewer than four or five languages in the workplace."
But some employees say the rule is unfair.
"It's against the Constitution," a Latino man said. "I have a problem speaking English. If I'm around somebody that is Spanish, I talk Spanish. They don't allow it. We stick to the rules. We don't want to get in trouble."
A middle-aged Latino woman said, "We say, 'uh oh, here they come' and we stop speaking Spanish. I understand their point, but it's a little offensive. It's a policy we have to follow even if we're chatting [in the production room]."
A 20-something Latino woman added, "It's not fair that we have to speak a certain language. If we are speaking Spanish, bosses will come by and say, 'English, please.' Sometimes you just shut up because you don't want to start a problem."
They were among a group of Bristol plant workers who in September received a memo that read in part: "...Due to the many different languages that today's population speaks we find it necessary, primarily for the essential safety and quality reasons, to require that all business communications at our North American manufacturing sites be conducted in English...
"For common courtesy, we ask that all employees consider those around them when communicating with others in a language other than English on non-work time."
O'Connor said the English-only rule "isn't something utilized in a heavy-handed way."
"These are our guidelines," she said. "We implemented this in a very respectful way. No one has been disciplined for not speaking English."
Workers, though, say they have been reprimanded for speaking Spanish on the job.
The law
Wanda Flowers, head counsel at the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Philadelphia, said the English-only rule could come close to violating Title Seven of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it illegal to discriminate against an employee due race, religion, sex or national origin.
She also said Estee Lauder would have to prove how an English-only rule would prevent safety risks if a case were ever brought against the company.
So far, none have been filed, she said.
"Safety. What safety?" Flowers said. "If that's their defense, they would have to qualify it. I have never seen [an English-only rule] used such as this. They're not even dealing with customers. If [the employees] would file a charge, we would investigate."
The issue, however, gets murkier.
Civil rights attorney Anita Alberts of Doylestown said an English-only rule can't be deemed discriminatory until the EEOC investigates and brings the matter to federal court. She said the burden is on the employer to prove the rule is a business necessity.
"Is this illegal discrimination? I don't know," she said. "If they are treated less favorably for not speaking English, it might be a violation. The employees have to make themselves known. They just can't leak stuff to the press and hope bad press will help. They have to stand up for themselves and go to the EEOC and proceed from there."
However, Marielena Hincapie, a civil rights lawyer in San Francisco, represented employees reprimanded for speaking foreign languages at a nursing home that had an English-only rule. One of the employees was awarded $52,500 in that 1995 suit.
"The problem with the English-only rule is that it doesn't create harmony. It has a detrimental impact and serves to humiliate some employees. If you want to look out for all your employees, find other means than telling them just to speak English," she said.
Usually the rule is implemented - and deemed a necessity - in workplaces where employees deal with customers; it's more unlikely to be used in a manufacturing situation, she said.
"English-only rules are due to xenophobia," she said. "People are afraid of other languages being spoken. They are afraid other nationalities are taking over the work force. That fear leads us to creating rules like this."
Stefan Presser, the legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said his organization would back the Estee Lauder employees if they wanted to make a case against the company.
"We generally support individuals' rights to speak their language as long as there is no interference with the operation of business," he said.
Estee Lauder is one of the leading cosmetic manufacturers in the world. It sells skin-care, makeup, and fragrance products in more than 100 countries.
Monday, March 20, 2000
