LULAC Wisconsin Preventing English Only Work Rule From Being Practiced By Local Businesses

The Leon's Frozen Custard business continues dialogue with LULAC Wisconsin to make sure no work related policies or rules violate employees rights.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

May 26, 2016

Milwaukee, WI - On Thursday, LULAC of Wisconsin (LULACWI) announced that the State Director Dr. Arturo Martínez and members have continued a dialogue with Ron Schneider, the owner of Leon's Frozen Custard, 3131 S. 27th Street and his attorney to make sure the English only work rule is no longer practiced at the ice cream custard business. LULACWI also wants to make sure other work related policies don't violate employees rights and wants to send a strong message to other local businesses that English only work rules are a violation of federal labor laws, despite popular belief by people that a business owner can set his or her own rules even, if they violate federal laws.

Since the Leon's English only rule scandal broke and went viral nationally, crowds of Latinos have diminished at the business. Some believe it is just temporary that many Latinos decided not to stop at Leon's, but to many Latinos, it became personal and felt that the English only rule discriminated bilingual employees and customers. Schneider has denied that he was discriminating, but placed the English rule only to make it more efficient to run the business. The Hispanic community backlash pressured Schneider to modify the rule and allow bilingual employees to speak Spanish between them and to serve customers in Spanish when possible.