The Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal statute, forbids discrimination on the basis of national origin in employment. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the administrative agency that oversees the law. The EEOC issued Guidelines on Discrimination because of National Origin. According to one of the guidelines, the EEOC will presume a violation of the law if an employer sets a work requirement that employees must speak only English in the workplace. This is an interpretive rule because it interprets the Civil Rights Act.

A. True

B. False

The answer is: A) True

Explanation:

The following are the guidelines the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US EEOC website) issue about requiring employees to speak only English at work.

Speak English Only Rules

The EEOC has stated that rules requiring employees to speak only English in the workplace violate the law unless the employer can show that they are justified by business necessity.

A rule requiring employees to speak only English in the workplace at all times, including breaks and lunch time, will rarely be justified. An English-only rule should be limited to the circumstances in which it is needed for the employer to operate safely or efficiently. Circumstances in which an English-only rule may be justified include: communications with customers or coworkers who only speak English; emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety; cooperative work assignments in which the English-only rule is needed to promote efficiency. Even if there is a need for an English-only rule, an employer may not take disciplinary action against an employee for violating the rule unless the employer has notified workers about the rule and the consequences of violating it.