Language Discrimination in the Workplace
Language discrimination unfortunately happens to most people in public areas, but did you know that it is also seen in your own workplace? According to the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also known as EEOC, in the year 2021 there had been an amount of 10.1% (6,213) of complaints received for employment discrimination involving national origin. This means that most complaints filed by employees were due to discrimination of their language and their background. The place you mostly spend your days at, where you expect to be treated with respect by your coworkers and employers, is now the place you fear the most for being judged on your native language and being treated differently compared to your other coworkers who only have an English background. The “speak-English-only” policy is seen across many workplaces, limiting people of different backgrounds and people who do not have English as their first language. Language discrimination in the workplace does not allow a safe and accepting environment to their employees of different backgrounds, limits the abilities of multi-language employees, and causes a sense of inferiority among employees with their employers and higher ups.
Firstly, language discrimination does not allow people of different backgrounds and ability to speak other languages to feel safe in their environments and feel accepted. In the Harvard Journal on Racial and Ethnic Justice, respecting language as part of ethnicity: Title VII and language discrimination at work (2011), author Carlo A. Pedrioli, a law professor at Barry University, asserts that people who speak different languages other than English and who come from a different background should receive protections of their ethnicity and languages from discrimination because their ethnicity and identity can be ripped away from them. The fact that people must worry about having their identity and ethnicity taken away from them and be forced to hide who they are when working is wrong. This causes the employees to feel as if they are not wanted or safe in their space, they cannot speak in the language they are most comfortable in or like to speak in in general. For example, if another language is spoken by an employee, that employee would be fired and terminated from their job. This in turn supports how their identity will be ripped away from them because their language is a part of them and their identity, if they are told to hide it and not use it at all while on the job, the employees will feel like they cannot truly be themselves. Furthermore, having the need to protect these people from discrimination speaks for itself, multi-language speakers should not have to live in fear of judgement when working. Title VII states that any employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin is prohibited. Without this protection given by Title VII, employees of different backgrounds would not be able to live a normal life in the workplace and constantly feel like who they are, and what their ethnicity is, is wrong.
Additionally, language discrimination makes employees feel like they are being limited without the use of their native language. Trial Attorney at equal employment opportunity, Brooke E. Lopez, in her article Boss Got Your Tongue? An Understanding of Language-Related Discrimination in The Workplace, published in Accessible Law Unt Dallas college of law, addresses the topic of employers discriminating their employees with accents and ability to speak different languages in the workspace and argues that it is a violation of the employees’ rights. An example of a limiting rule that is set in place in most workplaces is the “speak-English-only” policy. As Lopez has stated in her article the speak-English-only policy is “a rule set in place by an employer requiring employees to only speak English in the workplace”. Not being able to speak their native tongue and the language they know the most, limits an employee’s ability to fully and properly communicate with others. Without knowing how else to communicate, how will they be able to do their job respectively and properly? There will be no way for these employees to be able to do collaborative work assignments, speak with customers or coworkers, or even be able to tend to any emergencies that can appear in the workplace. But what about the accents? The discrimination of accents mentioned by Lopez, also supports Pedrioli’s claim that language discrimination can cause one’s ethnicity and identity to be “ripped away from them”. Being told that their accent is distracting and almost not understandable is a form of discrimination because it comes from their native language, to be told to hide their accent is limiting. Additionally, even if the employee knows and speaks the English language well, their accent will still be heard and discriminated against so in the end, it really feels like they can’t win and there is no escape from the discrimination. Simply because an employee has an accent, does not make it right for someone else as an employer to judge them for it and tell them that they cannot have their accent when working on the job.
Lastly, language discrimination causes a sense of inferiority among employees with their employers and higher ups. Senior Vice President and General counsel of the University of Miami, Aileen Maria Ugalde, in her law review, No Se Habla Espanol: English-Only Rules in the Workplace, states that “monolingual Americans feel threatened by the use of languages they do not understand” and those who do speak multiple languages are seen and meant to feel as inferior. People who cannot accept other languages and who refuse to show any respect towards other languages and the people who speak those languages, feel the need to be at the top of a pedestal. They believe that English is the only language that matters so when encountering a new language, they want to belittle it and make those who speak it feel that they are at the bottom. This is simply because they know no other language and just can’t understand what others say. They feel insecure about it and lash out. Having this behavior in the workplace especially coming from a higher up/employer towards an employee will make the employee feel as if they are being frowned upon or seen as lesser than the others. The employee will feel as if they will never be enough for the job and must forcefully stop speaking their native language. This causes a sense of intimidation, and fear amongst the employees.
In conclusion, Language discrimination in the workplace is very serious, it can result to people of different background who speak multiple languages feel unsafe, and even unwanted in the space they are provided to work in. The limitations put on to these employees are clear and wrong, no one should have to feel like they are being limited, judged, or seen as incompetent for speaking another language in front of their employer and for having a different background. Employees should not feel as if they are seen as less than anyone in a higher position than them simply because of the language they choose to speak in the space they have to be. There is no justification for unnecessary comments upon one’s language, the language they choose to speak in the space they work at should not be disrespected or seen as a flaw.
Works Cited
“Charge Statistics (Charges Filed with EEOC) FY 1997 through FY 2021.” US EEOC, https://www.eeoc.gov/data/charge-statistics-charges-filed-eeoc-fy-1997-through-fy-2021.
“Language Bias in the U.S.” Language Bias and Discrimination in the United States, https://languagebias.weebly.com/language-bias-in-the-us.html.
Lopez, Brooke E. “Boss Got Your Tongue? an Understanding of Language-Related Discrimination in the Workplace.” Boss Got Your Tongue? An Understanding Of Language-Related Discrimination In The Workplace | Accessible Law, 22 Mar. 2021, https://accessiblelaw.untdallas.edu/boss-got-your-tongue-understanding-language-related-discrimination-workplace.
Pedrioli, Carlo A. “Respecting Language as Part of Ethnicity: Title VII and Language Discrimination at Work.” Harvard Journal on Racial & Ethnic Justice, vol. 27, 2011, p. 97.
Ugalde, Aileen M. “‘No Se Habla Espanol’: English-Only Rules in the Workplace.” University of Miami Law Review., vol. 44, no. 5, 1990, pp. 1209–1241., https://doi.org/info:doi/.
Universal Translation Services. “Language Discrimination: Facts and History.” Universal Translation Services, 8 Sept. 2021, https://www.universal-translation-services.com/facts-about-language-discrimination/.
