Providence City Employee Files Federal Lawsuit for Being Barred From Speaking Spanish at Work

Providence City Employee Files Federal Lawsuit for Being Barred From Speaking Spanish at Work

An employee at the Providence Water Supply Board has sued his supervisor and the City of Providence in federal court, claiming his supervisor attempted to prevent him from speaking Spanish on the job. 

In a seven-page complaint filed in U.S. District Court on December 16, Dominican Republic-born Simon Peralta, who has served as a Senior Mechanic for Providence Water since 2017, sued supervisor Antonio Fernandes, for allegedly telling Peralta only English could be spoken at work.

Peralta, represented by attorney Shannah Kurland, sued Fernandes as well as the City of Providence for discrimination based on his race in violation of federal civil rights and employment law. 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The complaint alleges several instances in which Peralta says he was discriminated against on the basis of his national origin, and that at the time, neither the Water Board nor the City had any policy or training available to employees concerning English-only rules in the workplace. 

The lawsuit goes on to state that in August 2020, the City issued a Non-Discrimination Policy that “described English-Only rules in the absence of a public emergency or legitimate business reason as a subsection of national original discrimination.”

Incidents Alleged

In the complaint, Peralta asserts that several of his co-workers at Providence Water speak Spanish as their first language, others speak English as their first language, and that others speak languages other than Spanish or English as their first language. 

Peralta says that in July of 2017, he and colleagues were in the hallway leading to the garage at Providence Water one day speaking Spanish, and that Fernandes walked by and said only English should be spoken in the garage, not Spanish.

Peralta goes on to state that in May of 2018, Fernandes changed the radio station one day in the garage saying “Spanish music” was not to be played — only English. 

In another incident in 2018, Peralta said Fernandes told him he should add the phrase “for English, press one” on his personal cell phone, after Fernandes did not leave a message — following a recording in Spanish — regarding an overtime shift. 

The lawsuit states that the “actions of the individual defendant Fernandes as aforesaid warrant the imposition of punitive damages upon him as allowable by law” for “conduct and actions taken in a gross abuse of the defendant’s exercise of his individual and/or corporate powers” and were “motivated by malice or in bad faith” — and under federal law, were undertaken with “reckless or callous indifference to federally protected rights of the Plaintiff.”

In addition, the lawsuit asserts that Peralta’s charge has been taken up by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — who in October issued a notice of right to sue in the matter. 

The lawsuit goes on to state that Peralta suffered harm including but not limited to emotional pain and suffering and loss of wages, and is seeking damages and legal fees.