When is it Appropriate to Speak Another Language?

The Daily Journal reported, “Hair Cuttery district manager Susan Bonder told employees they were not allowed to speak Spanish among themselves anymore. They were told they could speak Spanish to the clients, but not among employees.”

Starbucks workers said, “We weren't allowed to speak Spanish on the job.”

In Arlington, Virginia, a convenience store clerk was fired for complaining about the employer's unwritten English-only policy. In this case, the court maintained that the privilege to converse on the job in any language is given at the employer’s discretion.

Many business owners feel that they need English-only rules in order to supervise and maintain control in the workplace. Many English-only speakers feel they are being “harassed,” “talked about,” or “insulted” when non-English speakers use other languages.

Do you feel uncomfortable when people speak in another language and you don’t understand? Think about your customers. Your employees are part of your brand and are there to satisfy your customers every need…making them comfortable is our job. What do you do when a bilingual customer walks in your jewelry store speaking English, but your sales associate knows he/she is bilingual and goes forth speaking to him/her in their language…what do you do? Do you have language laws at your store?

In our FL store, many of our jewelry store’s English-speaking customers have complained that they feel strange when our sales associates speak to each other in a language that they do not understand. Should jewelry storeowners be able to mandate the language sales associates speak while on the clock? Should you be allowed to speak in another language with customers who are English speaking? Do you just go along with the customer…hey if speaking another language leads to a $20,000 diamond sale who cares? Do you worry how your other customers feel while hearing this foreign language being spoken within earshot?