1. Do you agree with the contention that denying a group the right to speak their native tongue denies them the right to cultural expression?

2. Do employees have a “right” to cultural expression in the work place?

3. Do you agree with the court that an English-only rule is not abusive per se to those whose primary language is not English? Do you believe that it creates a “class system” of languages in the work place and therefore inherently places one group’s language above another’s?

Issue: Discriminatory impact on Hispanic employees by enacting an English-only policy at Spun Steak Co: Is there a place for cultural expression at the workplace? Could the English-only policy create an intimidating work atmosphere?

Facts: Spun Steak Co. employs 33 workers, 24 of whom are Spanish-speaking. Two of the Spanish-speakers do not speak English. Plaintiffs Garcia and Buitrago are production line workers for the defendant and both are bilingual. After receiving complaints that some workers were using their second language to harass and to insult other workers, defendant enacted an English-only policy in the workplace in order to

• Promote racial harmony
• Enhance worker safety because some employees who did not understand Spanish claimed that they were distracted by its use
• Enhance product quality because the USDA inspector in the plant spoke only English

Plaintiffs received warning notices about speaking Spanish during working hours and they were not permitted to work next to each other for two months. They filed charges with the EEOC who found reasonable cause to believe that the defendant had violated Title VII. District Court awarded summary judgment to the plaintiffs and Spun Steak appealed.

Decision: The ability to prohibit an employee to express their cultural identity in the workplace is not a violation of Title VII. Unfortunately, employees are often forced to sacrifice certain privileges (even self-expression) during work hours. Taking away a privilege is at the discretion of the employer. Spun Steak did not violate Title VII with its policy. For those employees that are bilingual, the English-only policy does not deny them a privilege of employment. No prima facie case was proven; therefore, judgment was in favor for Spun Steak.