No Habla Español @ Supercuts

By Rachelle Bowden in News on Aug 12, 2005 11:51AM

A couple of Spanish-speaking hair stylists from the area claim in a lawsuit that the company they work for, Supercuts (who we always call SuperSLUTS since that one crooked haircut we got in a moment of bad judgement and desperation), banned the use of Spanish in the workplace. Supposedly, the bosses at Supercuts posted a sign for employees that said "Attention everyone: Speaking a language other than English is not only disrespectful, it is also prohibited."

One of the stylists, Rosa Gonzalez, says that her boss would give her dirty looks and would scold her whenever she spoke Spanish with coworkers.. even when they were in the breakroom where no customers could hear them. She said the only time she was allowed to speak Spanish was when there was a customer who couldn't speak English. So speaking Spanish is disrespectful unless it's needed to make a sale, we guess. The two women suing worked at Supercuts on South Michigan Avenue for 10 years but quit when they couldn't take it any more.

The EEOC says that the ban is a violation of the Civil Rights Act that prohibits employment discrimination based on national origin. Supercuts denies the allegations and says there's never been a blanket ban against Spanish.