EEOC Wins Settlement Over English-Only Rule

A suburban Chicago assembly-line worker who was fired for saying “good day” in Spanish, and eight others dismissed or disciplined for violating the company’s English-only rule, won $192,500 in a court-approved settlement. “This was a plant and an assembly line where most people worked independently of each other, so we don’t believe there was a legitimate purpose for this rule,” said Jose J. Behar of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Chicago office, which represented the workers in a lawsuit against Watlow Batavia Inc., a subsidiary of Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis. One of the workers, Marcelina Navar, was fired after a supervisor overheard her greet a co-worker with buenos dias, Behar said. The settlement is the largest the EEOC has obtained on behalf of workers who have suffered discrimination related to English-only rules, he said. Some courts, including the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes California, have upheld English-only rules in the workplace when employers’ have argued they are necessary, he said.