Police officer Jessenia Guzman, who is of Dominican decent, filed two lawsuits in the U.S. Department of Labor after she was reprimand for talking in Spanish during working hours, the New York Daily News reported.
"It was just natural," said Guzman, who has been in the NYPD for thirteen years. "My partner was getting coffee, she said something and I answered back in Spanish" the policewoman claimed. At the time of the incident, Guzman was in charge of answering phone calls in Manhattan, which was made public by the New York Daily News on Monday.
Hours later, her supervisor called her into his office to inform Guzman he was officially reprimanding her. The sanction stems from a NYPD rule that states employees must communicate in English during working hours.
"This policy exists to allow proper supervision of staff," says the memo signed by Lieutenant Richard Khalaf. The memo was sent to Guzman, who now has the sanction in her permanent record, the New York Daily News, which obtained a copy of the document, reported.
Guzman, who lives in the Bronx, filed two complaints for violations of federal labor laws. Her co-worker, who also spoke Spanish, did not receive the same punishment.
A spokesman for the Police Department, where one in three officers are Hispanic, defended the policy and told the NY Daily News that the organization must speak in English only.
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