Grassfire Backgrounder:
Federal Government Targeting Businesses Requiring English With Discrimnation Lawsuits

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) has turned diversity, one of America’s greatest strengths, against the common interests of all Americans. Some businessess and organizations have begun to require employees to speak English while on the job. Among these organizations requiring English as the official language of business is the Salvation Army, which was sued by the EEOC on the grounds that requiring employees to speak English violates their civil rights. In this particular Salvation Army Thrift Store, the requirements to speak English were clearly posted and employees were given one year to learn the language. After the year was up, the workers continued to speak Spanish to customers and fellow employees and were subsequently fired.

Bill Status
Name: Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriation Bill for FY2008 (H.R. 3093, S. 1745). Sen. Lamar Alexander proposed a provision to this bill that would prohibit the EEOC from filing lawsuits against businesses or organizations that require employees to speak english on the job (Title V, Section 527). The full Senate passed the bill including the Alexander provision on October 16, 2007. On November 8, 2007 the House agreed to the amendment. Later that day the house withdrew its support for the bill. Negotiations have been postponed until Republicans promise to not push Alexander’s provision.

English= The Official Language of Business
Senator Lamar Alexander (R- TN) stated on the Senate Floor that he wants “to make it clear that it is not against Federal law for an employer to require employees to speak English on the Job.”[i] To counter the lawsuits of the EEOC, Sen. Alexander has proposed a provision to the CJS Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3093). The provision would prohibit the use of federal funds by the EEOC for the purposes of suing employers for requiring English on the job. Text:

SEC. 527. LIMITATION. (a) In General- None of the funds made available in this Act shall be used to initiate or participate in a civil action by or on the behalf of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against an entity on the grounds that the entity requires an employee to speak English while engaged in work.

For text online, go here and then click on Title V. Sec. 527

English language lawsuits are on the rise. The number of charges filed with the EEOC alleging discrimination based on such English-only policies is six times larger than it was ten years ago, going from thirty-two a decade ago to over two hundred last year.[ii]

Pelosi, Hispanic Caucus Block Provision
The full Senate supported this provision when the CJS bill passed the Senate by a vote of 71 to 19 on October 16, 2007. The Senate bill included the Alexander provision with no amendment offered to change it. On November 8, 2007 the House voted 218 to 186 to instruct the House Conferees to agree with the Senate and keep the Alexander provision. (Roll Call 1076)

However, later that very same day members of the House Hispanic Caucus threatened to stonewall other House bills unless the Alexander provision was killed. After hasty negotiations, the Hispanic Caucus agreed not to block the other bills after Speaker Pelosi promised that the House will not vote on the CJS bill unless the English language provision is terminated.

Businesses At Risk

If this provision is not included in this bill “[T]housands of small businesses across America will have to show there is some special reason to justify requiring their employers to speak our country’s common language on the job.” According to Sen. Alexander, “We have spent the last forty years in our country celebrating diversity at the expense of unity. One way to create that unity is to value, not devalue, our common language, English.”[iii]

The motto found on the Great Seal of the United States proclaims: E Pluribus Unum—one from many. English has been, still is, and will continue to be a key to success in America. Businesses should not live in fear from lawsuits in their decision to require employees to speak English on the job.

Resources
Human Events
Wall Street Journal
English First backgrounder