Milwaukee Custard Stand, Latino Group Reach Deal On Employee Language Issues

A Milwaukee frozen custard stand and a Latino advocacy group have reached an agreement over how much employees are encouraged to speak English on the job.

Leon’s Custard said contrary to some reports, it never had an English-only policy, but rather a guideline that employees speak English as much as possible.

Under a deal with the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, workers at the custard stand will speak the language their customers prefer, if they’re able to do so.

Darryl Morin, of LULAC, said companies across the state should have a more diverse workforce.

“We think that if anybody really wants to be successful, we think it’s important to have a multi-cultural outreach and support all of your customer base,” he said.

Morin calls the agreement “amicable.”

“We were able to resolve all the major issues,” he said. “But I think the larger story here is you know, in today’s environment, everybody wants to project strength or signal strength, and pummel their opponent. We want to prove here that people can come together with different views, share their concerns, share their interests and be able resolve them amicably. And we’re very happy we were able to do so.”

Morin said as the Latino population continues to increase in Wisconsin, it’s becoming more of an economic engine that firms will want to attract.

Officials with Leon’s Custard said they will also review its personnel policies to make sure the stand complies with civil rights laws.