HAR §12-46-174. Language

(a) Any rule requiring employees to speak only English or other specific language at all times in the work place, including work breaks, shall be considered a violation of chapter 378, HRS. (b) An employer may have a rule requiring that employees speak only English at certain times where the employer can show that the rule is justified by business necessity. (c) If an employer has a business necessity for a speak-English-only rule at certain times, the employer shall inform its employees of the general circumstances when speaking only in English is required and of the consequences of violating the rule. If an employer fails to effectively notify its employees of the rule and makes an adverse employment decision against an individual based on a violation of the rule, the commission shall consider the application of the rule as evidence of discrimination on the basis of ancestry. (d) Discrimination on the basis of language, including speech peculiar to a certain ancestry, a foreign accent, vernacular language, and dialects within the same national group, shall be a violation of chapter 378, HRS, unless language is a BFOQ for the 46-95 ( parti c ular position involved. [Eff 12/31/90; am and comp (Auth: HRS §§368-3, 378-8) (Imp: HRS §§368-3, 378-2)