Staff at Florida Health Clinic warned to speak only English or to be fired, according to a complaint

Haines CITY, Fla. – Seven Puerto Rican health workers said the supervisors at a clinic run by the Florida government had advised them to stop speaking Spanish between themselves, otherwise they would get fired.

The women work at the Florida Health Department Clinic in Haines City. In a statement released Monday by community group La Mesa Boricua of Florida, the group filed a human resource complaint and wrote a letter to the Florida Department of Health.

Workers say that the work required that they be bilingual because of Hispanic patients. Nurse Mairyli Miranda said she and her colleagues spoke English with non-Hispanic patients and staff, but chose their mother tongue to speak to each other.

The Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission states that exclusively English rules may violate federal laws unless they are "justified on business grounds". .