is this racial or ignorant?

[curley]

What is the name of your state? wisconsin
my supervisor at work said that she does not want me speaking "that language" (spanish) to other people there (who also speak it) because she does not understand it and the other people may be saying something out of line. i told her that some of the other workers do not speak english very well and i need to communicate with them to tell them their jobs and she said disciplinary action would follow if it continued. i am the only "ethnic" who works there and i feel discriminated against. do i have the right to sue for this?

 

[stephenk]

how does she communicate with those same employees?

 

[jpritchett81]

Disciplinary action for speaking spanish???? Sounds absurd to me

 

[curley]

i supervise inmates at a correctional facility and she doesn't want this to happen. it sounds ignorant to me but i have never incurred this before having lived in california all my life then moving here where ethnic people are hard to find. it also was the way she said "that language", like it was something she either didn't like or had a previous bad experience with. either way it is discriminatory to me. i have asked a few upper management people who have said that she is way out of line. i have had previous issues with her in the past over other things as well (work related).

 

[casa]

What is the name of your state? wisconsin
my supervisor at work said that she does not want me speaking "that language" (spanish) to other people there (who also speak it) because she does not understand it and the other people may be saying something out of line. i told her that some of the other workers do not speak english very well and i need to communicate with them to tell them their jobs and she said disciplinary action would follow if it continued. i am the only "ethnic" who works there and i feel discriminated against. do i have the right to sue for this?

How are you the only "ethnic" there when you say you are speaking Spanish to other employees who also speak the same language, and in fact, have trouble understanding English?

I imagine if those other people are employed there, then they know enough English to have gotten hired- so your assumption of them 'not understanding' doesn't make sense. Also, if you are not those other employee's supervisor, it's not your job to tell them what to do. It's their supervisor's job. Whether you are speaking English or Spanish- it's not your position to explain those employee's duties to them (when they were hired, no doubt their responsibilities were explained to them).

 

[BelizeBreeze]

i supervise inmates at a correctional facility and she doesn't want this to happen.

And for safety reasons she is well within her rights to demand you NOT speak spanish with the inmates or other workers.

it sounds ignorant to me but i have never incurred this before having lived in california all my life then moving here where ethnic people are hard to find.

Can you even imagine how ignorant that statement is? Hell, They should call California Mexi-fornia with all the Ethnics in the state.

it also was the way she said "that language", like it was something she either didn't like or had a previous bad experience with. either way it is discriminatory to me.

irrelevant.

i have asked a few upper management people who have said that she is way out of line. i have had previous issues with her in the past over other things as well (work related).

And so you're manufacturing another one. If you want to speak spanish then fine, that's your right. There is a little gathering you could join that would allow you to speak spanish all day long.

It's formed in Arizona just this side of the border.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

How are you the only "ethnic" there when you say you are speaking Spanish to other employees who also speak the same language, and in fact, have trouble understanding English?

I imagine if those other people are employed there, then they know enough English to have gotten hired- so your assumption of them 'not understanding' doesn't make sense. Also, if you are not those other employee's supervisor, it's not your job to tell them what to do. It's their supervisor's job. Whether you are speaking English or Spanish- it's not your position to explain those employee's duties to them (when they were hired, no doubt their responsibilities were explained to them).

I can see why supervising inmates who speak another language might be a problem. In other words, to translate is one thing, when that is the intent and it is clear what in being communicated. Inmates do not have the same rights to free speach and often attempt to communicate without permission. Check with higher management, but most likely you will have to communicate in English and only use Spanish when there is a clear need.

 

[seniorjudge]

... i am the only "ethnic" who works there and i feel discriminated against....

Yes, this is ignorance. If you have no ethnicity, then you are not a human being.

 

[rmet4nzkx]

it sounds ignorant to me but i have never incurred this before having lived in california all my life then moving here where ethnic people are hard to find.

Yes, it is ignorant to not capitalize the first word in a sentence or proper nouns like California. If you are having trouble finding other persons of Hispanic origin or who speak Spanish, just drive a few miles south to Illinois, I believe they rank 3rd behind Texas and California in populations of Spanish speakers.

 

[cbg]

Does anyone want to hear the answer as it relates to employment law?

They MAY implement an English-only rule as far as conducting business is concerned.

They may NOT implement an English-only rule as far as conversations on break, during lunch, or while otherwise NOT conducting business. So if you're giving them instructions for their jobs, she can insist you do it in English. If you're on break, she can't stop you from speaking any language you choose.

 

[seniorjudge]

Does anyone want to hear the answer as it relates to employment law?

They MAY implement an English-only rule as far as conducting business is concerned.

They may NOT implement an English-only rule as far as conversations on break, during lunch, or while otherwise NOT conducting business. So if you're giving them instructions for their jobs, she can insist you do it in English. If you're on break, she can't stop you from speaking any language you choose.

C'est bon!

 

[cbg]

Merci beaucoup!

 

[curley]

let me clear this up ok? what i meant by being from california is that it is a melting pot out there where here it is hard to find a minority. also the people i am speaking spanish to are the inmates, not the staff. they don't understand english at all and need to do their jobs properly as i instruct them (illegals i would imagine when they were busted). there is currently one other staff member that speaks spanish (a correctional officer) and he had the same problem with his upper management. and as for safety reasons, i have been in corrections for 18 years and never had this happen to me. i understand the safety aspect more than most who work there. i just thought it was out of line to tell me that stuff because if it is safety reason then she doesn't trust what i am saying to the inmates which really ticks me off.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

Vielen Dank

 

[BelizeBreeze]

let me clear this up ok? what i meant by being from california is that it is a melting pot out there where here it is hard to find a minority. also the people i am speaking spanish to are the inmates, not the staff. they don't understand english at all and need to do their jobs properly as i instruct them (illegals i would imagine when they were busted). there is currently one other staff member that speaks spanish (a correctional officer) and he had the same problem with his upper management. and as for safety reasons, i have been in corrections for 18 years and never had this happen to me. i understand the safety aspect more than most who work there. i just thought it was out of line to tell me that stuff because if it is safety reason then she doesn't trust what i am saying to the inmates which really ticks me off.

Being ticked off is not a legal foundation for action.