BILINGUAL BACKLASH

American Girl Doll Store Worker Says He Was Fired for Speaking Spanish

The ex-employee alleges that the store manager called him a gay slur.

A former server at the American Girl doll store in Manhattan is suing after allegedly being fired for pushing back against an order by the store manager to stop speaking Spanish at work, The Independent reports. Miguel Bautista says he was speaking Spanish with two other employees in the store’s kitchen when the store manager told him American Girl was an “English-only” workplace. Bautista, who was born in Ecuador, says that when he questioned the rule, the manager mocked his accent and then proceeded to ridicule his sexual orientation—using a highly offensive Spanish slur. Bautista says the harassment continued for weeks before he was fired shortly after filing a complaint with human resources. He alleges that American Girl—owned by Mattel—misrepresented his firing as a “resignation.” His lawsuit seeks lost wages, damages, and reinstatement at American Girl. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employees have the right to speak in languages other than English except in “certain narrowly-defined situations” such as in emergencies and for communication with customers and co-workers who only speak English.