< back
ENGLISH ONLY POLICY AT HAIR SALON PROMPTS EEOC LAWSUIT
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency dedicated to enforcing the nation’s laws against discrimination in employment, has filed suit against a Chicago area hair salon and its parent company, Regis Corp., the largest mall-based hair salon company in the world.  The suit was prompted by the Chicago salon’s English only policy, a policy that is against the law.  Suit was filed against the entire corporation because, according to the Chicago area EEOC director, “the policy came from outside the store.”   
According to the EEOC, Hispanic workers at the salon were prohibited from speaking Spanish during their breaks, and from speaking Spanish to their Spanish-speaking customers.  Moreover, according to an EEOC attorney, the English only rule was part of a broader pattern of discrimination against Hispanic workers.  The salon allegedly made Hispanic workers work in the back of the store so they would not be noticed by mall customers, and made Hispanic stylists clean the floors and toilets in the store, work not demanded of any other stylists.  
Employers are allowed to require employees to speak English, but must demonstrate that the requirement is necessary because of the type of job.  For example, a hospital can require its workers to speak English because of the need for them to be able to communicate.  This is only the third such lawsuit brought by the EEOC, but given the increasing attention immigrant groups have focused on the problem, plus the EEOC’s recently announced willingness to defend undocumented workers against workplace discrimination, such suits will likely become more common.