Language doesn’t create protected class

An employee who claimed he was singled out and discriminated against because he did not speak a particular language has lost his discrimination case. A court concluded that speaking or not speaking a particular language is not a protected class characteristic.

Recent case: Thomas, who is black, does not speak Spanish. He worked at a Zara fashion store, managing stock. The employer is a Spanish chain retailer specializing in current fashion.

Thomas was assigned to a New York City store. His supervisors speak Spanish, as did his two stockroom co-workers. They would frequently speak Spanish in front of Thomas, essentially excluding him from their conversations.

He complained and an HR representative promised to meet with him on the problems he was experiencing. However, before she had a chance, Thomas walked out after his supervisor yelled at him for not unboxing packages fast enough.

Thomas sued, alleging he had been singled out for disparate treatment on account of his inability to speak Spanish.

The court said he had no case. It reasoned that simply speaking or not speaking a particular language is not a protected characteristic. While being Hispanic means someone belongs to a specific ethnic group, it isn’t the language one speaks that matters, but country of origin. (Brailsford v. Zara USA, No. 14-CIV-6999, SD, 2016)

Final note: Thomas couldn’t convince the court that others outside his protected class were treated more favorably—only that some were encouraged to speak a language he didn’t know but presumably could learn.