The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 204 complaints involving employers' English-only polices in fiscal year 2008, up from 125 cases in fiscal year 2006.

English-only-policy cases represent only a small fraction of all national origin discrimination complaints, but they have increased at a much faster clip. Between 2006 and 2008, english-only-policy cases jumped by 63 percent, compared with a 27-percent increase for all national origiination discirmination cases over the same period. The number of national origin cases involving English-only rules is up from 32 cases in fiscal year 1996.

While an employer may require that an employee be able to speak and understand English if the requirement is based on a business necessity, a policy requiring that only English be spoken at lunch, on breaks, or outside the workplace will be considered unlawful.

The EEOC has issued some guidelines that provide examples of a business necessity that would justify an English-only policy:

• For communications with customers, co-workers, or supervisors who speak only English
• In emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety
• For cooperative work assignments in which the English-only rule is needed to promote efficiency
• To enable a supervisor who speaks only English to monitor the performance of an employee whose job duties require communication with co-workers or customers

In addition, employers should:

• Limit the English-only policy to times when it is justified by a business necessity--i.e., native language communications should not be prohibited during breaks or meal periods.
• Enforce the rule consistently and fairly; e.g., don't allow some employees to speak in their native language and not others.