Erath County has found itself under scrutiny after a note was released inside the tax assessor-collector’s office requiring employees to speak only English unless helping customers.
Veronica Cajamarca, a 2006 Dublin High School graduate, was hired inside the county’s motor vehicle office as a bilingual employee October 2021.
For Cajamarca, the job was initially the perfect fit with flexibility needed for her 4-year-old daughter, and employment close to her Dublin home.
“There has always been a power issue inside the office though,” she said.
Cajamarca felt early on there was a split in office dynamics between the longtime employees and a group of three newcomers, whom had been there less than three years, herself included.
“They would gossip,” she said.
Cajamarca developed an office friendship with newcomer, Marycruz Serrano, who started out as a part-time clerk, but who was promoted to full-time in October 2022.
“Everyone would talk, but Marycruz and I were comfortable speaking to each in Spanish, which is our primary language,” Cajamarca said, though both women are fluent in English as well.
The issue in question rose after a conversation between Serrano and Cajamarca, over some family difficulties.
“Honestly we were speaking in Spanish because I didn’t want it to become office gossip,” Cajamarca said.
On Feb. 7, Carey asked Cajamarca to come into her office to “sign something.”
At this point, Cajamarca said she was presented with a note stating ‘English-only rule’ at the top with the following text, “English is to be spoken at all times while at work. English is the primary language of a majority of the employees of this office and in order to facilitate an efficient and harmonious work environment all employees shall speak only the English language except in limited circumstances. Languages other than English is only to be used when translating for a non-speaking English customer. Violation of this rule is grounds for termination.”
Cajamarca was in shock and asked Carey what would happen if she did not sign the note. Carey said she didn’t know, Cajamarca said.
“I just have one question: Why hire someone bilingual if you don’t want them speaking Spanish?,” Cajamarca said in an interview with the Citizen.
On Feb. 9, Cajamarca gave her two weeks notice utilizing her vacation time to make up those days.
“I love my job and the public that I helped on a daily however, other employees that I worked with make the job hard, uncomfortable and impossible on the daily,” Cajamarca wrote in her resignation letter.
Serrano is still employed by Erath County and declined to discuss the matter with the Citizen until seeking legal counsel.
Carey said she could not speak about the issue at this time.
The note was also approved by County Attorney Lisa Pence prior to asking employees to sign it, according to both Cajamarca and a statement by Judge Brandon Huckabee.
Pence did not respond to a request for comments by presstime.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to Mrs. Cajamarca and Ms. Serrano personally and to the citizens that this has rightfully upset. I want to be very clear, this is not an Erath County policy, nor is it found in our handbook; it is not a current policy used in any other County office that I am aware of at this time,” Huckabee wrote in a statement.
“In preparation of me taking office, I pushed hard to create a dedicated Human Resource department for Erath County. It is vitally important that we have a full time professional in place to ensure our policies are appropriate and consistent. We were able to fill the position in late January, but unfortunately, Human Resources was not contacted about implementing this policy prior to presenting it to the employees at the Tax office. Our office learned about this after the letter was presented to Mrs. Cajamarca and Ms. Serrano,” the statement included.
“County government is an interesting setup in that each elected official is responsible for their own office and work independently without much oversight from other officials in the County. This policy and rollout was a decision that Mrs. Carey made after consulting with Ms. Pence for use in her department without the consultation of the County Judge, Commissioners Court (County Wide Policy Makers), or the Human Resource Department. This is not a policy that has ever been considered nor will ever be implemented at a County level, and I would strongly advise that no individual office issue such a policy. I have and will continue to work daily to do what I can to make Erath County offices a place where everyone feels comfortable and supported in their professional and personal lives. The citizens of Erath County should be able to trust and count on us to serve them with accountability, transparency, and integrity. That is the goal of our office every day. We can’t change the past and won’t ever claim to be a perfect organization, but I expect us to work every day to be better and hold each other accountable when we fall short.”
Cajamarca acknowledged that Huckabee had reached out to her and apologized but said it was not his apology to give.
Ultimately, she would like to see those involved reprimanded and an apology given to her and Serrano by the women involved.
“Never have I been in this situation professionally before,” she said. “This motivates me to fight this. My daughter will be bilingual and I hope she will never have to go through something like this.”
Cajamarca said she has been looking for a new job and has retained legal counsel.
Huckabee’s office also provided a Spanish-language version of the release which is featured below.
“En primer lugar, quiero disculparme personalmente con la Sra. Cajamarca y la Srita. Serrano, igual haci con cada uno de los ciudadanos que esto ha molestado, con razón. Quiero ser muy claro, esta no es una políza del condado de Erath ni se encuentra en nuestro manual. No es una políza actual ni utilizada en ninguna otra oficina del condado que yo tenga conocimiento.
En preparación para asumir el cargo de su Juez de Condado, presioné mucho para crear un departamento de recursos humanos dedicado para el condado de Erath. Es de vital importancia que tengamos un profesional para garantizar que nuestras polízas sean apropiadas y consistentes. Pudimos cubrir el puesto a fines de enero, pero desafortunadamente no se contactó a Recursos Humanos sobre implementar esta políza antes de presentarle a los empleados en la oficina de impuestos. Nuestra oficina se enteró de esto después de presentarles la carta a la Sra. Cajamarca y la Srita. Serrano.
El gobierno del condado es una configuración interesante en la que cada funcionario electo es responsable de su propio cargo, oficina y trabaja de forma independiente sin supervisión de otros funcionarios electos del condado. Esta políza y puesta en marcha fue una decisión que tomaron la Sra. Carey y la Sra. Pence para su uso en su departamento sin la consulta del Juez del Condado, el Tribunal de Comisionados (Creadores de Polízas de todo el Condado) o el Departamento de Recursos Humanos. Esta no es una políza que se haya considerado ni alguna vez implementado a nivel del condado y recomendaría encarecidamente que ninguna oficina individual emita dicha políza.
He trabajado y continuaré trabajando todos los días para hacer lo que pueda para que las oficinas del condado de Erath sean un lugar donde todos se sientan cómodos y apoyados en su vida profesional y personal. Los ciudadanos del condado de Erath deberían poder confiar y contar con nosotros para servirles con responsabilidad, transparencia e integridad. Ese es el objetivo de nuestra oficina todos los días.
No podemos cambiar el pasado y nunca afirmaremos ser una organización perfecta, pero espero que trabajemos todos los días para ser mejores y responsabilizarnos mutuamente cuando nos quedemos cortos. Si tiene más preguntas, puede comunicarse conmigo o con Jocelyn Perez en nuestra oficina al 254-965-1452.
Dios bendiga al condado de Erath, Brandon Huckabee.”