While many employers have implemented English-only workplace policies, employers need to apply their rules appropriately in ways that avoid unfair discrimination claims.

Tennessee has enacted a new state law authorizing employers to impose an English-only workplace policy as long as it’s justified by a legitimate business purpose. The statute says that such a policy is not discriminatory under Tennessee law. Federal courts and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have found such policies to be unlawfully discriminatory on the federal level. There are some situations in which the EEOC has said that business necessity justifies an English-only policy.

To learn more about these situations, which businesses are impacted, and steps employers should take before implementing an English-only policy, be sure to listen to English Language in the Workplace in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

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