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Show a The Salt Lake Tribune NATION/WORLD Tuesday, December1, 1998 A7 | How Much Power Should Your Boss Have Over What You Say, How You SayIt? Courts: Fielding more challenges to English-only rules in the workplace Under federal law, employers are within their rights to demand that workers speak English, but onlyif that restriction is necessary for conducting business, Federalrules say that employers cannotprohibit THE WASHINGTONpost NEWYORK — For mostof the 11 years that Irma Rivera sold crystalfor BaccaratInc., one of Manhattan’s most exclusive purveyorsof fine glass, her ability to speak Spanish and English was a clear benefit A supervisor once praised her work saying she employees from speaking a foreign language ininformal situatio! Employers accusedofillegally imposing Englishonlyrules typically see them as common-senserestrictions aimed at keeping the workplace comfort- Denver: Jury to decide if an employer can enforce the Ten Commandments 1 ICIATED PRESS saidhe lost after he wasfired from his job at Qwest which had the contract for work at US West three years ago. The contract was supervised by Analysts International Corp., a Minnesota-based management consulting company. Corry is suing AIC, claiming his constitutional rights wereviolated DENVER — jury is being asked to decideif an employer hasthe right to enforce the Ten Commandments at work after an ex-employeesued, claiming Corrysaid hesettled his complaint with Qwest for “a nominal amount Charles Jones, attorneyfor AIC, saidthecaseis a contract dispute, and not about religious freedom “Gedis not on trial. Godis not the issue. Religion he refused to follow Judeo-Christian ethics. Charles Corry, 60, of Golden, filed a federal law- was a sales leaderin part because her bilingualism able for those who speak only English. “Some managersfeel they need English-onlyrules to main- tomers.” But what was once one of Rivera’s most valued assets tain control in the workplace,” said Caroline Zambrowiez, spokeswoman for the Society for Human Resource Management. “Sometimespeoplefeel others are talking behind their back if they use a foreign language. It can create an uncomfortable at- religious and objected to the words ‘God’ or ‘Jesus Christ,” he said before his trial began Monday. workers found offensive, andthat it was Qwest that “This English-only rhetoric has seeped into the fabric of the nation,” said Juan Figueroa, president of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education judge they objected to his language. “fam a Catholic and don’t believe in taking God's name in vain,” said Renee Perea, a customer-service supervisor. a case broughtseveral lawsuits in recentyearschallenging However, a Baptist minister who said he deals with Fewactivists who monitor this burgeoning civil- cause languageis so closely tied to one’s national made her “extremely effective when dealing with South American and other Spanish-speaking cus- eventuallyled to her professional undoing She wasfired in 1995, in part, she said, because she spoke Spanish to a co-workeron thejobin violation of store policy. Earlier this year, a federal jury awarded Rivera $500,000, marking what employment lawyers say is the first time that damages were awarded challenging an employer's English-only policy. rights issue believe it will be the last. mosphere.” Fund, a Manhattan-based advocacy group that has English-only policies. “It is especially troubling be- origin.” suit after he wasfired by his employer. A co-worker had objected to his use of the word “God” in an epithet while working on his computer. “T wastold the person sitting next to me was very SOCIATEDPRESS HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Inves- they believe was used by convicted killer Martin Gurule to begin his escape from death row, prison officials said Monday. sumption he’s still here until we find evidencehe’s not,” said Sgt Tommy Freeman, who manages the dog teamsat the prison. Gary Johnson, director of the six of the inmates were caughtaf- Gurule remained free for a remained within a 7-mile perime- fourth day despite the efforts of 500 prison guards and 70 tracking ter to the south and east of the fences topped with razor wire and dogs who crisscrossed heavily wooded and swampy areas aroundthe state’s death row. ‘We're going to go on the as- —————) Acy) \ NYY 3 SAY RH prison Freeman and his dog teams have been searching since late Thursday, when Gurule and six other condemned killers likely ter guards startingfiring. Gurule, 29, went on toscale two dashed acrossa grassyarea to dis- appearinto heavy fog. He is the first inmate in 64 years to escape from the state’s death row. If you're not receiving home delivery, you could be letting money slip away... If you don’t subscribe, you're missing out on the valuable coupon savings that come in your Sunday paper. Subscribe International. Corrysaid he discussed the problem with his AIC “She said the use of the word ‘God’ is covered by the Ten Commandments, and I objected and said I'm not a Christian. She asked me if I was familiar with the Ten Commandments, and I said I was, and she representative who was excusedbythe judge suchissues regularly was kept on the panel told meI was going to obey them,” Corrysaid The trial is expected to take a week. Corry is seeking $28,160 for contract wages he ‘I refuse to be governed bythetenetsof a religion that is not my own,” yee used the hacksaw blade to cut through a recreation-yard fence at Ellis Unit about 85 miles northeast of Houston. They made it onto the roof, but prison system, said Mondayafternoon that he still believes Gurule that Corry's profanity included other words that fired him, not Analysts Several jurors were excused after they told the Texas EscapeStill Free; Hacksaw Blade Is Found tigators found a hacksaw blade is not the issue,” he said Jones told U.S. District Judge Zita Weinshienk 2 1@ 1 FOR 12ron| DRAPERY CLEANING | No risk drapery cleaning. Perfect pleats, no shrinkage. | life. Get the largest carpeted | Get the largest or most | expensive pair done at regular price, and get the [ next pair living area cleaned at the oe | regular price, the second | largest... FREE. 1-800-FOR-COIT FREE. | 1-800-FOR-COIT ee soon MiimeacurpemiedEscapes i2 FOR 5 Get thefirst rug, the largest or mm, one is... 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