A group of nurses at the Florida Health Department clinic in Haines City have filed a human rights complaint after apparently being told they would be fired if the didn't speak only English among themselves, WFTS reported.
The seven nurses all hail from Puerto Rico, and a community group called La Mesa Boricua de Florida says it filed the complaint on their behalf, as well as writing a letter to the Florida Department of Health.
They have to deal with patients who only speak Spanish at times, and they say that they speak English with English-speaking patients. However, with each other, they will often converse in their native Spanish.
"By preventing an employee, at any time, from using the language with which he or she is most comfortable, the employer is placing that individual at a disadvantage concerning employment opportunities," the EEOC states. "Employers may also create an atmosphere of isolation, inferiority, and intimidation that leads to discrimination in the work environment."
