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is this ad for a job legal anywhere in the US?

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xxandreaxx

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state? CA

I have been job searching for well over 5 months and every potential employer informs me of the overwhelming responses they received to their ads. California has let way too many people in but thats just a complaint....What I have come across in my jobsearch is on many occassions the following statement made in a newspaper ad....

"Must speak Spanish"

Last time I checked I thought I was in america....
since when do I have to speak another language of an employers choosing to even be considered for a job?

Most say bilingual is a plus or bilingual preferred...

but the Must be bilingual or Must speak "language" is coming up more and more.

Is this legal and if it isnt can i report them and to who?

Thanks...
andrea
(English speaking american!!!) :rolleyes:
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Many, many, many people speak Spanish who are not Hispanic. I personally don't, but my best friend does and she's of French, German and English background; not a drop of Hispanic blood in her. These ads are not demanding that you be of Hispanic descent; they are requiring that you speak Spanish. Anyone who took four years of Spanish in high school and remembers half of it would probably qualify, regardless of their race.

There is nothing even remotely illegal about this ad.

You can buy the appropriate tapes to learn a new language in any major bookstore. If it's that much of a problem for you, learn the language.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
Of course it's legal. Anyone can learn to speak Spanish (or Japanese, or Chinese, or German or...) It's no different than having "B.S. in Engineering required" in an employment ad. If a specific skill or knowledge is required in order to perform the job, then that's the way it is.
 

xxandreaxx

Junior Member
CA


Oh my god!

How about they learn to speak english when they get here?
Why should I have to pay to learn another freaking language?
I am bilingual. And bilingual does not mean I speak spanish nor does it mean I am of hispanic decent! Which is what most ads are basing their "bilingual" requirement on....trust me they have made it clear my second language is not what they are looking for!!!
my second language is not that common but is basically a language EVERY person should be required to learn and that is AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE. I am working towards my interpreter certification but how can I pay for that when I have to take time out now out of my life to learn a language just because Maria chooses not to use english when she crossed the border?

Or Inga didnt have the education available to her to learn it before her parents hauled her all the way over here? I just think its putting not only me but many of us out of the running for a job we can do because come on here the positions are not listed under the interpreter positions they are office, receptionist, admin, secretary and social workers and yet are discriminated against because we didnt take spanish in high school. High school did not require me to learn a second language so why is it ok to deny me a job I am more than qualified to do but my one strike is I didnt learn some other coutry's language. I believe anyone that comes here damn well better learn the language and not put English speaking Americans out of a job because we didnt take the time to learn everyone elses language. Im not against Hispanics. But the reality is here is that Los Angeles is full of Hispanics and the jobs want spanish speaking employees to make their lives easier....I am against being denied a chance at a job because I dont speak their language. Is that too much to ask?

And I can pretty much assume that all you legal gurus out there will utilize an interpreter for your cases if needed and your client is paying for it. Or do you demand that your legal secretarys learn spanish so you dont have to foot that bill? Im curious as to how many actually deny deaf clients because when they get the bill that they are required to pay for an interpreter during their counsel sessions with their client because the ADA will take a chunk of your income with fines? GET MY POINT?

My beef is Im looking for a job. I need money. I dont have money to go out to learn a third language now just so I can get a job in this country speaking a foreign language to get my interpreter certification!

How about it become a requirement that ALL ATTORNEYS must speak at least 3 Languages as well before they can go pass the bar? English, Spanish, and Sign Language for your deaf clients? But you have to pay for learning it and you have to pass certification which costs a grip of money for ASL interpreters.

This is discrimination. The job posted is not for an interpreter its for a business office. Many of my friends agree that placing an ad for requirements in a job duty is understandable. If answering phones is a duty I can do it..IN ENGLISH.... If typing up a letter is required then I can do it...IN ENGLISH....
YOU want a spanish letter....HIRE AN INTERPRETER THEY ARE SKILLED IN IT!

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT.
:mad: :confused: :rolleyes: :eek:
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Look, whether you like it or not, the facts are these:

It is legal for them to require that an employee be able to speak Spanish.

You do not speak Spanish.

Therefore, your options are to either learn to speak Spanish, or look for a job somewhere that this is not a requirement.

Now, if they were demanding that all employees must be of Hispanic descent, THAT would be illegal. But that's not what's being required.

This is not illegal discrimination. Whatever your feelings about it the ad, and the requirement, is legal.

And you might want to remember that unless you're Native American, YOUR ancestors came here from another country originally as well, and unless they were from England, probably didn't speak English perfectly when they first landed either.
 

xxandreaxx

Junior Member
ummm native american here
parents were chippawa
or better yet Ojibwa and the language was not English it was
Algonquian and that would be spoken around the tribes of Lake Superior and westward.

If I wanted to be a colossal BIT%$ I could say English is not the native language....now is it? But I managed to add that to my list of spoken languages. How many more will be required for me to speak before I am allowed to work in an office?

Hell I could apply for being a POPE at this rate.

so its legal. fine.

Maybe its time to change that.

I think it should change...all american employers cannot require employees to speak anything other than English.

andrea
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Hey, I never said that English was the native language. You're the one who keeps insisting that English-only ought to be the rule.

Tell you what, Andrea. Since you're so convinced that you have more rights than anyone else and those rights are being violated, how about you call the EEOC and tell them how all the employers are violating your right to get a job anywhere you want by their totally unreasonable requirement that you speak a language you don't care to speak. Then come back and tell us what they say.
 

Beth3

Senior Member
I think it should change...all american employers cannot require employees to speak anything other than English. The Supreme Court of the United States does not agree with you.
 

nextwife

Senior Member
Move to WI. Very few employers will expect you to speak Spanish.

My sis lives and works in CA, and she speaks only minimal Spanish.
 

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