Secretary fired for speaking Spanish
A former school secretary has sued Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, saying she lost her job at Devonshire Elementary when a new principal banned her from speaking Spanish to parents who can’t speak English.
Ana Ligia Mateo claims she was hired as a bilingual secretary for the east Charlotte school in 2006. But when Suzanne Gimenez took over as principal in 2008, the lawsuit says, Gimenez “announced in a staff meeting that she would no longer allow Spanish to be spoken to parents by any of the faculty or staff.”
charlotteobserver.com