Custard stand’s language practice prompts call for federal investigation
MILWAUKEE — A Latino civil rights organization this week called for a federal investigation of Leon’s Frozen Custard on Milwaukee’s south side after media reports of an “English-only’ policy for employees at the business.
The League of United Latin American Citizens wants the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate the “policy” at the restaurant that its owner likens more to a practice.
“While many of us consider (Leon’s) as a community institution, it was surprising when we learned of their language policy, which is in clear violation of federal labor law,” the organization said.
The issue surfaced after WISN-TV in Milwaukee reported on what it called an “English-only rule” in place at the restaurant.
The report featured a Spanish-speaking customer who said he witnessed an employee tell another Spanish-speaking customer to place her order in English.
The man, who speaks both English and Spanish, said when he placed his order in Spanish the employee said she was not allowed to speak Spanish to him.
Rules requiring workers to speak only English violate federal law unless they are reasonably necessary to the business’s operation, such as emergencies in which a common language is necessary for safety of all, according to information that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has on its website. The agency contends that requiring workers to speak English at all times is rarely justified.
However, the agency also said that some jobs require English-language skills, including teaching, customer service and telemarketing to Englishspeaking clients.
Leon’s owner, Ron Schneider, told the Journal Sentinel that employees and customers are not prohibited from speaking Spanish, but that for about a year he’s been telling staff to communicate in English as much as possible. He said no customer has ever been turned away.
Schneider said he was trying to avoid having customers getting used to Spanish, “and then one day finding no one here who can speak it.”
He added that only a couple of about two dozen employees speak Spanish.
“This is still the United States. Why do we have to get involved in multi-language things?” he added. “We can’t be the United Nations. … I guess I’m just an old guy too steeped in tradition.”