ARE YOU EXPERIENCING RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE? CALL US TODAY
America is known as a nation of immigrants. Rightly so. Mostly everyone is from somewhere else. People from all over the world continue migrating to America, the land of opportunity, today! Whether voluntarily or forced from politics and hardships, you deserve to work without fear of discrimination and prejudices.
If you are not a native-born American citizen, and English is not your native tongue, you may speak the language with an accent. You should not be punished or penalized for this. It is illegal for an employer to fire or demote or deny you an opportunity to advance for the way you speak English.
If you believe you have been mistreated in the workplace due to having a language barrier, you could hold your employer accountable. Hiring an employment attorney in Los Angeles will help you do so. Discrimination against someone because of how they speak English is a form of racism, and racial profiling and racism lawyers in LA can help you get justice.
When English Fluency is Required
Some jobs require their staff to speak clear, fluent English. Courts strictly examine such requirements. Though, jobs tend to rule out even native speakers who do not have the verbal skills to do them.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency that reviews and interprets English fluency requirements. The amount of fluency that a company can reasonably require will vary from job to job. There can be no blanket fluency requirements and that an employee cannot be fired or denied promotion due to how someone sounds.
No Blanket English-Only Rules
There are many ways of belittling, demoralizing, and punishing non-native speakers of English in the workplace. Establishing an English-only policy while they are on the job is one of them. These rules are often promulgated with discriminatory intent. And if there is a good reason to think that such a policy is meant to get rid of non-English speaking workers or discourage others from applying, it should be challenged.
There may be some instances in which workers are required to speak only English. For example, if you work as a server or in some other customer-facing position in a restaurant, it is perfectly reasonable for your employer to maintain English-only rules. This can be seen as a necessary part of making the dining experience of customers pleasing and comfortable.
However, an employer cannot establish such a rule for people who work in warehouses, construction sites, or other manual labor jobs. The only exception to this is when workers who speak various languages must work together. And even in this case, the rule must be specifically tailored to address the needs of the workplace. An employer cannot forbid the speaking of another language on lunch or coffee breaks, for example.
Accent Discrimination
Accents are closely associated with national origin. If you have been denied employment or advancement because of your accent, it may actually be a subtle way of getting rid of you because of your national origin. Courts examine carefully the hiring and promotion decisions of a company based on accent. Any company that maintains such a rule may be trying to discriminate against immigrants on the sly.
If you work in a position requiring you to speak clear English and your accent does not affect your ability to articulate words and sounds effectively, you should not be denied the chance to do the job. An employer cannot adopt a blanket rule that no employee with an accent can work in a customer service job.
How to Respond to Discrimination
Dealing with discrimination is one of the hardest things you will ever do. Your hard work, talent, skill, and knowledge should be rewarded with a fair and unbiased assessment of your qualifications to fill a certain position. You should not be reduced to being a foreigner or someone with a funny accent. It is insulting and degrading, and you should stand up for yourself if you are discriminated against.
You would prefer not to confront the matter at all. Having to present yourself as a victim of such discrimination is itself humiliating. However, if you do not respond to racism, you will not be as productive as you should be, and the perpetrators of the wrongdoing will mistreat others like you.
In responding to discrimination, you must rely on what you know about your employer and your colleagues. If you believe you can raise your concerns with a trusted colleague or supervisor, then you should do so. If you believe that trying to settle the matter informally will only make things worse for you, then you should lodge a formal complaint. If your complaint is ignored or not resolved to your satisfaction, then you should hire a workplace lawyer in LA and prepare to take legal action.
Figuring Out the Best Course of Legal Action
You need a lawyer after experiencing racism on the job because you will not be familiar with the subtleties of law regarding your situation. They can figure out the best course of legal action.
Our Los Angeles racial discrimination lawyers are all about getting concrete outcomes in lawsuits. You may be eligible for compensation for the way that you have been treated, including getting reinstated or have the company issue you an apology.