Richard Kidman, owner of R.D.'s restaurant in Page, Arizona, couldn't figure out why he was having such a problem with employee turnover. He got a call from an employee telling him she was quitting because some of his staff had been making rude comments in Navaho about her. Other workers had also been offended, and customers had overheard vulgar remarks. Most of Kidman's workers are Native Americans, and about half speak Navaho.

When Kidman realized what was going on, he instituted a policy that required his employees to speak English while on the job. His son wrote the policy based on information he got from the EEOC website. Four Navaho workers, offended by the policy, refused to sign and filed a complaint with the EEOC. The EEOC found that their rights were violated, and when the Kidmans refused to retract it or apologize, the EEOC filed a lawsuit. Since then, they've become a lightening rod for English-only rules in the workplace.

Last year the EEOC received 228 cases challenging English-only policies, and it's likely to see more this year with minority populations growing. This is the first time the EEOC has filed an English-only suit on behalf of Native Americans. The legal costs threaten to put Kidman out of business, but he is fighting anyway and maintaining he's done nothing wrong.