McDonald’s Demanded Staff Speak Only English

A McDonald’s manager in Yellowknife demanded that staff only speak English.

An unsigned manager’s letter, sent to staff in late August, advised employees that “when you are clocked in you are expected to speak English at all times. There will be few cercumstances [sic] where it will be permitted but 99% of the time you should be speaking English.”

According to the letter, a first offence would be a warning while continued offences would result in the loss of the employee meal discount for 24 hours, a written warning documented in the employee’s file, and ultimately the possibility of the employee being suspended or fired, according to the letter.

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• Severance pay for McDonald’s workers

What are the rights of both an employee and an employer when it comes to language in the workplace? Employment Lawyer Lior Samfiru, Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, joined hosts Matt Gurney and Supriya Dwivedi on Global News Radio 640 Toronto to discuss.