Legal Question in Employment Law in California

You have two legal rights that have likely been violated: ancestry discrimination (if you are Hispanic) and retaliation [assigned a less favorable job classification] because you may have protested or resisted the discipline as illegal.

California law (Govt C �12951) prohibits an employer from adopting or enforcing a policy that limits or prohibits the use of any language in any workplace unless both of the following conditions are met:

The language restriction is justified by business necessity; and

The employer has notified its employees of the circumstances and the time when the language restriction is required to be observed, and the consequences for violating the language restriction.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has made a similar finding. 29 CFR �1606.7.

�Business necessity� is an "overriding legitimate business purpose" such that the language restriction is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the business. A "necessity" is one that is the only available choice of accomplishing the business purpose. Govt C �12951(b).

Here are some EEOC guidelines for when English only may be required:

a) Communications with customers, co-workers, or supervisors who speak only English;

b) Emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety;

c) Cooperative work assignments, in which the rule is needed to promote efficiency; and

d) An English-speaking supervisor�s need to monitor the performance of an employee whose job duties require communication with co-workers or customers.

So, your situation requires some additional thinking: if your Spanish communication did not interfere with the efficient, safe conduct of the work, or interfere with your supervisor's ability to monitor your work performance, the discipline was likely discriminatory and illegal.