Forever 21 accused of illegally implementing English-only rule in SF

The grand opening of a new Forever 21 clothing store in San Francisco, Calif. took place on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. The grand opening of a new Forever 21 clothing store in San Francisco, Calif. took place on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012. Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Forever 21 accused of illegally implementing English-only rule in SF 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A state civil rights agency accused the Forever 21 fashion chain Wednesday of illegally requiring employees at a San Francisco store to speak only English — charges the company denies.

In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing accused Forever 21 of discriminating against employees based on their national origin. California law forbids English-only workplace rules unless a company can show they are needed to run the business properly, the department said.

The suit alleged that Forever 21 has, since May 2015, prohibited employees at the store on Union Square from speaking any language other than English during work hours. The rules apply to conversations with customers, including those who spoke only Spanish, and to conversations with other employees at work or on rest breaks, the suit said.

When three Spanish-speaking employees complained, the store reduced their work hours, and they said managers treated them with hostility, according to the lawsuit. The employees then filed a discrimination complaint with the state agency, which is seeking damages on their behalf and a change in the store’s policy.

The company, based in Los Angeles, denied having an English-only policy at any of its stores.

“Forever 21 is committed to diversity and inclusion in all of our stores and does not have any policies with regards to the language spoken in our stores,” it said.

Kevin Kish, the state agency’s director, said in a statement: “Linguistic diversity is a business reality in the California workplace, and the department will carefully scrutinize English-only rules to ensure that all employees are treated equally, regardless of their national origin.”

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko