Posted on 08/24/2013 4:41:24 AM PDT by Iron Munro
Verizon executives in Tampa Bay are informally telling employees that they should be speaking English only when on the job.
Not because Verizon has an English-only policy at work — it doesn’t — but because speaking Spanish at work when not absolutely necessary can make nearby English-only speakers feel excluded.
This topic came to a head recently in Tampa when three employees of a Verizon dispatch center were speaking Spanish together, and another employee made a complaint because she felt excluded. The tri-lingual newspaper La Gaceta first reported on the incident this week, telling the story of Margaret Hess, a Verizon employee of 33 years who was asked to speak only English with her co-workers.
Verizon spokesman Bob Elek confirmed the incident, and described the company language policy this way.
“Generally, we tell employees they can speak Spanish (or any other language) on break, lunch or any time away from the work area,” he wrote in an official statement. However, when employees are on the dispatch center floor or other work setting, they should speak English, he said. This promotes “positive employee relations” because it’s courteous to co-workers, and employees should be “mindful” of making others feel uncomfortable, Elek said, “not because they’re speaking Spanish’, but because for some it can create a feeling of separation versus inclusion.”
Elek said that Verizon absolutely encourages employees to speak Spanish as part of their jobs – when it’s necessary to communicate with customers or for other business reasons.
This issue “pops up all the time because there’s friction between cultures,” said Tony Morejon, a cultural affairs liaison for Hillsborough County. “I encourage people to learn English ... but some employees are going to resent this kind of rule. Some will say they won’t speak Spanish for business purposes unless they’re required to, because they feel used. Like ‘Oh when you want me to speak Spanish you say do that, but not other times.’”
Guidelines from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission allow a company to have a narrowly tailored policy requiring English in the workplace, so long as the policy is not adopted with an intent to discriminate, said Reed Russell, a partner with the law firm of Phelps Dunbar and a former legal counsel to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Companies can require English in many places and times for reasons like workplace safety, efficiency and “harmony,” or official communications.
“Where employers get into difficulty with the EEOC is if the rule is overbroad,” he said, for instance an English-only rule on all company grounds at all times. “This is one of those issues that gets a lot of discussion, but there are not that many EEOC charges or lawsuits filed. It gets a lot of people agitated on both sides of the issue. Some say such a policy is racist or mean-spirited. Others say you should only speak English in America.”
This might slow down Tampa's decline and transition to becoming another Miami.
Of course there will be all sorts of complaints about racism.
It will be interesting to see if Verizon sticks to the policy or backs down.
Perfect. MORE!!!!
Collapse the system. Destroy the republican party which has held us in slavery. Let us leave their plantation. Then we can truly rebuild a free nation(s).
Ha, ha! I love it. The truth is that sometimes they ARE trying to exclude English speakers. They don't want you to know they are calling you an "a-hole."
Its just a matter of common courtesy for crying out loud. I speak spanish, but when spanish speaking coworkers start conversations in spanish, I immediately shift it into english.
I'm almost certain that there was once a SCOTUS case on this very topic and IIRC the non-English speakers won.Even if I'm wrong on this you can still bet that this will go to the courts and if it does my money's on the wetbacks.
Having to speak English while on the job will improve their English skills if they can't switch between languages during the day. Everybody benefits.
I hope more companies with call centers set standards.
Listen for the word culereo. Pendejo is another of their favorites
No, you idiots. They hired you to speak to Spanish-only customers. They are PAYING you money. You are not being "used" any more than anyone hired to do anything. YOU agreed to work for them for a certain PAY. If you don't like the deal, go work at a bodega and you might not have to speak English ever.
Non-English-speaking countries hire English speakers to teach English to students. They pay them money. They are not being used, they are going a job. Get it?
"cinco de mayo" refers to a hispanic holiday,
"chinga tu madre" does not.
CC
Thank you.
first time for everything huh? I see the spanish speaking way too often in businesses for it to be acceptable. Go into any fast food restaurant and you’d think you were in Mehico.
Maybe I’ll stick with Verizon.
I used to live in Tampa Fl. and was born there. I have watched my old neighborhood and city transformed into a 3rd world country over the past 53 yrs. It is very sad. I can’t even walk through my old neighborhood for fear of being robbed or attacked. I keep moving north every 10 or 15 yrs. until I am now no longer in Tampa or Hillsborough county for that matter. But it seems about every 10 yrs. the filth creeps North and my family has to move farther North to be able to sleep comfortably at night. One day there will be no safe haven. They say our country is a melting pot. I say the aliens no longer want to melt in. They bring their language,culture,flag and nasty habits with them and refuse to assimilate. You can’t even go to McDonalds for a burger in Tampa without having to listen to the employees all chattering in Spanish. If they love their country, flag and language so much, why don’t they live in their homeland?
Not that I want to be a culero, but I thought culero was spelled without the second e.
It’s not only courtesy to speak a language everyone can understand, it’s necessary when talking about business.
Something important could be stated that everyone present should be aware of - policies, procedures, clients, cases, decisions etc.
Being left out of the loop on something business related could get the non-Spanish speaking employee in trouble. (Maybe that’s the purpose in the first place.)
I wonder if the Verizon policy applies to all languages. If you think the Spanish speakers are bad, try being in a group of Asians.
“Listen for the word culero...Pendejo is another of their favorites.”
A hispanic co-worker was affectionately referred to as
“iki poo poo”, because every time he made an accounting mistake he would exclaim, “Hijo de puta!”. (s.o.b.)
That was around fourty years ago, when there was no
“La Raza” around, when no hispanics behaved like an occupying army, and when Spanish was not considered a language spoken by a superior race and culture filled with brilliant intellectual “Progressives” who considered the American southwest to be trespassed upon by anglos.
IMHO
Now how about “Push 1 for get the hell out of my country!”?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.