AITA and is it discrimination to be told you CANT speak a specific language (USA)? Context: worked for MAJOR hotel/timeshare (marriott) chain in Miami. Perhaps useful information, the rooms at this place are entire two bedroom, two bath suites complete with fully stocked kitchens. I get a job as housekeeping manager due to prev housekeeping manager experience and am bilingual (eng/span). We conduct daily “standup”/morning meetings ti duscuss common focal points, employee supply needs, business stuffs, etc. Two weeks to one month later the temporary manager (fill in for department head) is replaced. If is worth mentioning, the temp manager is not who interviewed/hired me. By the day in question, new operations manager replaces the temp manager pseudo training me. One to two weeks later, daily morning meeting is held with mostly spanish speaking housekeeping team (minus 2 english only workers). After explaining some minor cleaning standard, i was pushed by an employee on the why behind the standard. Context: standards were not a thing at this property, notable by the lack of cleaning wrags as a practice. Meaning that the same single wrag was used to clean the bathroom as the kitchen, as the lamps, as the….. yes. One single cloth was used by a single housekeeper for checkouts. They used bleach to “clean” the wrag. Okay. So interestingly enough this WASNT the issue at hand. That was the first thing i addressed at this property. Moving on. I was explaining using furniture polish for wooden doors and dusting, etc. One associate pushed back on this “new” standard. I explained it was something to help with room scores, external and internal score; that we will begin grading on this as is standard. Predictably, there was pushback from my view. The general manager of the property decided to interject and answer for me. From here, the meeting led over 2 hours. In a hotel, this can be really unhelpful since rooms can be open for cleaning. Eventually (over 2 hours, again), the GM decides too much time has been wasted, he tells them the meeting is iver and to get to work (almost verbatim). At the end of the day, I am called to a meeting with the GM and the new manager. Im told to never speak spanish again (since i “caused the confusion in the morning”) and am given two specific people to translate FOR me, despite being bilingual. I filed a complaint (big mistake, i know). So i decide to take 2 weeks of work off for mental reasons (i struggle with PTSD and anxiety and found trouble reconciling managing my team with the directive of dont speak spanish). I was seriously told to ignore answeing associates and direct my answers, in english, to the two specific people. Im hounded by HR constantly during my 2 weeks. After i come back, I was walked out of the company (read: fired) over the next 2 months. During the 2 months, i was written up in excess and had to fight each of them. Eventually, as guessed, was fired. I knew it was coming but couldnt do anything. I took 2 days of no spanish. Had my 2 weeks break bc i just couldnt work, ignoring my workers. I eventually stopped the bs and just told coworkers i was told by the GM i couldnt talk to them in spanish. Honestly, fuck HR. They ARENT there for you. I spoke to them 3 months into the job about my concerns about this. Nothing. I was told “this is how it is here.” By HR. Of a major hotel chain.
Tldr: got hired as manager for major hotel chain, stuff happened, told to not speak a specific language spoken by workers that I speak. Filed complaint. Got walked out of door in retaliation for complaint. Fuck corporations.
Edit: added chain name bc fuck em, didnt sign any nda and im not defacing them with any lies.