Managing Language Policies in the Foodservice Workplace
Abstract The principal objective of this paper is to review the business and law literatures to determine the legal, business and ethical issues at stake in setting language policies for personnel in foodservice businesses within the United States. Furthermore, we review the types of language policies and practices that have resulted in claims of employee discrimination under Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Code, and where applicable, we note specific legal rulings that have relevance for future managerial decision-making and future research in the foodservice industry. We additionally identify practices for managing a linguistically diverse workforce that are seen to be both beneficial and compliant with existing civil rights law.
I Want to Speak Like a Native Speaker: The Case for Lowering the Plaintiff's Burden of Proof in Title VII Accent Discrimination Cases
Discrimination on the basis of a person’s foreign accent has been found to be prohibited in certain instances under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. With the steady influx of non-native speakers of English into the United States, this area of the law is likely to see an increase in litigation in the coming years. However, more often than not, plaintiffs in accent discrimination cases are unsuccessful in winning their claim. Using linguistic, demographic, and economic research, this Note argues that a plaintiff’s burden of proving accent discrimination should be lowered, in order to deter employers from discriminating against accented speakers. This in turn would better integrate immigrants into American society, allowing them to reach their full potential, at least in terms of employment.
CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PRENATAL INJURY
A case of maternal assault resulted in fetomaternal hemorrhage and subsequent neonatal death, leading to a verdict of criminally negligent homicide against the assailant.