Where 'English only' falls short

Federal court rulings on English-only cases have sent mixed signals to businesses. Some courts have used logic similar to the EEOC's, but others have upheld businesses' right to require English during work time.

The most notable of those latter cases is Garcia v. Spun Steak. In 1993, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an English-only policy that was created after employees complained that co-workers were making racist comments in Spanish.

Because the Spanish-speakers also knew how to speak English, the court said, the policy did not create a hostile work environment for them. It also said the Civil Rights Act does not give employees a right to cultural expression.

Many lawyers still advise businesses to follow EEOC guidelines by keeping policies as narrow as possible. In California, state lawmakers backed that up in 2002 by requiring employers to have an overriding business purpose for any English-language policy, and to give workers advance notice.

AUBURN, MASS. - Metal rollers clank rhythmically inside the Imperial Distributors warehouse, as employees slide boxes packed with health and beauty products down the lines. Over in the cafeteria of the Auburn, Mass., company, you hear the sound of the world's tongues - Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and, most commonly Twi - a major language in Ghana.

This is one American workplace where an English-only policy is unthinkable. Immigrants do more than half the entry-level jobs. The situation forces Peter McQuaid, the director of distribution, to repeat himself a lot. And he relies on bilingual staff to interpret. So when a state grant came along for on-site English classes, the company jumped at the chance. For just over a year, more than a dozen employees have spent four hours a week (half of it on company time) mastering the vocabulary they need in their jobs.

"Before, when I try say something to my supervisor or to American people, I can't," says Miriam Reyes, a native of El Salvador who has worked here nearly five years and now supervises a small group of co-workers. "Now it's better for me. I feel comfortable."

Since the classes began, Mr. McQuaid has seen fewer mistakes and faster work. "The bottom line is improved productivity," he says. But morale is important, too. "They've just come out of their shells."

On the other side of the country, at a construction site in Denver, 75 supervisors opted to learn Spanish during a 10-week on-the-job course. Half the workforce on the huge interstate project known as T-REX is Hispanic - and in that group, 1 out of 4 speak very little English.

The conditions of the job are stressful, "so when you can ask people how it's going in Spanish, it sets a different tone," says supervisor Ed Carpenter. People are more willing to engage with him now, he says, telling him if they need a different tool or have a question or suggestion. During a cold snap recently, he asked his crew to let him know if the conditions were too harsh for working safely, and a few calls in Spanish did come.

While workers are on their way to learning English, T-REX officials say they want to meet them halfway.

"If you don't take time to understand their culture, you tend to, in the sublime, communicate arrogance and superiority," Mr. Carpenter says. In his setting, as in others, tension could be dangerous. "We're so dependent on each other for safety, and for the quality [of work] that's expected by the customer."

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