Final answer:
English only laws in the workplace are legal when they align with business necessity, such as ensuring safety or efficient operations. Though the U.S. has no official language, debates and legislation at the state level aim to promote English, sometimes as a response to increasing diversity. Employment laws protect against discrimination based on national origin, which includes unnecessary language-based requirements.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is legal to have an English only law in the workplace under certain conditions that align with business necessity. This means circumstances where the nature of business operations can be considered to warrant such a policy, like safety requirements, or efficient business operations like communication with customers. The bilingual aspect of certain roles, however, can mandate the need for multiple languages.
While it is true that the United States has no official language at the federal level, there has been debate and various state level legislation mandating English as the official language. This has often been in response to concerns about assimilation and the preservation of primarily European-based cultural heritage, particularly in areas with large Spanish-speaking populations. Nevertheless, the codification of English-only laws always must be balanced against potential issues of discrimination and the country's diversity, which is rich with multiple languages and heritages.
Federal anti-discrimination laws provide that employment decisions should not be based on national origin or language, except where language proficiency is directly relevant to job performance. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states that an English-only rule should be applied to employees only when necessary for the employer to operate safely or efficiently. Cases such as Mendez v. Westminster have historically protected individuals from being discriminated against based on national origin, which includes language discrimination when not necessary for the role.