Whether this ban on Spanish-speaking is a company-wide policy or a regulation that was enacted at this particular San Diego location in dispute. A spokeswoman for Albertsons told the Washington Post that “the company does not have, and has never had a policy in which such language usage was prohibited.”
An additional statement from the company given to The Post insisted that the chain “does not require that its employees speak English only,” and that it “encourages employees with foreign language abilities to use those skills to serve its customers.”
Interestingly, among the grocery store properties that the Albertsons company owns and operates across the United States are four North Texas grocery stores named “Amigos,” which the company assumed control of after it acquired United Supermarkets LLC in September of 2013.
And while Albertsons has not formally addressed this matter on Twitter, their most recent tweets seem pretty ironic, in light of this story.
Albertsons✔@Albertsons
Let’s taco bout perfection…these Grilled Spicy Chicken Tacos & Pineapple Salsa are a 10 out of 10 & SUPER easy to make! http://bit.ly/2sjjgfG
Albertsons✔@Albertsons
The EEOC is seeking a court to order the company to cease all discrimination against employees based on their country of origin and for Zamorano and Stevenson to be awarded compensation in the form of punitive damages.
Article Appeared @https://thinkprogress.org/california-grocery-chain-sued-over-alleged-ban-against-speaking-spanish-on-the-job-0d26558269c2/