WESTON, Fla. -- One day after allegations that a supervisor sent out an e-mail to employees saying only English should be spoken in the workplace, officials at Cleveland Clinic said it is against their policy to "restrict the use of any language in the workplace."

According to at least one employee, speaking Spanish at work is frowned upon by some Cleveland Clinic managers.

Images: E-mails Suggest 'English Only'

The employee, who talked to NBC 6 on condition of anonymity, said Hispanic employees are discriminated against by managers who want only English spoken at the hospital, NBC 6's Patricia Andreu reported.

On Oct. 5, Thomas Qafzezi, who works for the Cleveland Clinic as director of patient services, allegedly sent out an e-mail to employees, writing, "Please be advised that speaking other languages other than English is to be confined to business transactions with those patients or vendors who are not English speaking. Speaking a non-English language in other situations during the normal course of the business day within the department is prohibited."

Qafzezi confirmed the e-mail's authenticity, but said his quotes were taken out of context. He would not comment further on the incident.

The Cleveland Clinic's CEO, Robert Kay, M.D., issued a memo to all staff Thursday regarding the company's policies.

"I want to make it extremely clear that this is neither the policy nor the practice of the Cleveland Clinic. We value, encourage and embrace diversity in the workplace among employees, staff, patients and visitors," the memo said.

Paul Lopez, an attorney who specializes in employment law, said an "English-only" policy could be considered discriminatory by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"I would never counsel a company or a client to enact that type of a policy, that it's an English only in the workplace at all times. Because, again, the EEOC would presumptively view that as discriminatory," Lopez said.

An official at the Cleveland Clinic told NBC 6 that the company will offer sensitivity training to employees in the near future.

There is no word on whether Qafzezi or others will be reprimanded in any way, Andreu reported.