Bilingual Court Clerk Wins Settlement Over English-Only Order

The Los Angeles County Claims Board on Friday approved a settlement of $85,000 to a Latino court clerk who filed a discrimination lawsuit suit saying that three Huntington Park Municipal Court judges forced her to speak only in English while on the job.

County attorneys recommended the settlement for Alva Gutierrez, saying the cost of defending the lawsuit would far exceed the settlement amount. The case has been moving through federal courts for the last four years. Last November, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld another court’s decision that threw out the English-only ruling.

The settlement must still be approved by a U.S. District Court judge. Gutierrez’s attorney, Gloria Allred, said the three judges who issued the order to Gutierrez were still opposed to a settlement and wanted to appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The claims board award comes nearly five years after Gutierrez filed suit against the county after the three judges ordered employees to speak English except on breaks and during lunch. The judges said they acted in response to complaints from several clerks who said Gutierrez had used insulting remarks about them while speaking in Spanish.

Soon after the judges issued their English-only order, Gutierrez went on medical leave. After suing the judges, she also filed a separate action with the county Civil Service Commission alleging discrimination. The commission ruled that the English-only rule violated Civil Service guidelines prohibiting discrimination against county employees but stopped short of trying to reverse the judges’ order.

“From what the attorneys said it seems like it is definitely in the best interest of the county to settle,” said claims board member Nancy Singer. The board approved the settlement 3 to 0.

Gutierrez could not be reached for comment Friday.

In the decision dismissing the English-only rule, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote that such directives “generally have an adverse impact on protected groups” and can “create an atmosphere of inferiority, isolation and intimidation.” Reinhardt also ruled that the Municipal Court judges would have to answer pretrial questions about their decision to adopt the rule.