No habla Español, no trabajo aquí

[Son of Slam]

We are starting to hear this in the Southwest now. It's hard to believe that you can be refused a job because you do not speak Spanish, but they say it is a safety matter. Anyone heard of this going to court yet?

 

[justalayman]

We are starting to hear this in the Southwest now. It's hard to believe that you can be refused a job because you do not speak Spanish, but they say it is a safety matter. Anyone heard of this going to court yet?

Going to court for what? It doesn't say you have to be Spanish, merely speak it.

 

[You Are Guilty]

We are starting to hear this in the Southwest now. It's hard to believe that you can be refused a job because you do not speak Spanish, but they say it is a safety matter. Anyone heard of this going to court yet?

Haven't you heard? English speaking americans are trampling all over the rights of the foreigners living here!
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bias20apr20,1,4693242.story?coll=la-headlines-business

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued guidelines Wednesday aimed at combating subtle forms of race discrimination, described as a persistent problem in the workplace.

The new compliance manual does not change existing job discrimination laws. It is written to give employers, employees and lawyers better guidance on emerging areas of racial bias, which currently make up one-third of EEOC complaints.

[highlight]They include English-only language discrimination against immigrants[/highlight], favoritism shown by minority employers for their own groups, and illegal exclusion of minority employees from advancement, networking and other job opportunities.

PS: Glad you're back - where have you been hiding?

 

[cbg]

As long as the requirement is only that you speak Spanish, it won't be going to court.

You can learn to speak Spanish if you are of Irish, or German, or Norwegian, or English, or Chinese, or Native American extration. Since anyone can learn to speak Spanish no matter what their race or national origin, it is not a discriminatory requirement.

 

[mitousmom]

I suppose an argument could be made that requiring all employees to speak Spanish has an adverse impact on non-Hispanics if statistics show that the majority of Spanish speaking applicants are Hispanic and most non-Hispanic applicants don't speak Spanish. Then, the company would have to show that speaking Spanish is a bona fide occupational qualification (bfoq) necessary for successful performance of the job.

It's an argument similar to the one used to overturn the use of a high school diploma to eliminate blacks from employment in the South. Statistics showed that the use of the neutral requirement (diploma) had an adverse impact on blacks, since they were much less likely to have a diploma than whites. When the Courts determined that having a diploma wasn't necessary for the job, employers were forced to drop the requirement and ended up hiring more blacks.

 

[cbg]

While I see your point, and don't necessarily disagree, it's looking at an awful lot of "ifs".

 

[badd2323]

Wow only in the U.S.

How ironic, you can't get a job in the U.S. because you don't speak a foreign language. How about this? If you are going to live in the U.S. learn to speak English!!!

 

[justalayman]

How ironic, you can't get a job in the U.S. because you don't speak a foreign language. How about this? If you are going to live in the U.S. learn to speak English!!!

When they make English the official language of the U.S. of A. you might have a better chance with this.

 

[sperts]

of couse technically i think we all are supposed to be speaking apache arent we? someone correct me.

 

[justalayman]

of couse technically i think we all are supposed to be speaking apache arent we? someone correct me.

Apache???And why is that? We whooped them.

 

[BlondiePB]

We are starting to hear this in the Southwest now. It's hard to believe that you can be refused a job because you do not speak Spanish, but they say it is a safety matter. Anyone heard of this going to court yet?

Not hard to believe at all. What''s hard to believe is that you're now just starting to hear about it, given the location. Being able to speak Spanish has been a requirement in most employment positions in Miami for decades.

 

[mitousmom]

The US is really out of sync with the rest of the civilized world. We are one of the few allegedly highly educated countries in which so few people are bi- or multi-lingual. Most European countries and a number of Asian ones require students to learn a second language. I live in area where we get a lot of foreign vistors. It always amazes me that so many of the foreign tourists speak English so well. When I comment, they tell me that learning to speak English is a requirement in their schools.

 

[justalayman]

The US is really out of sync with the rest of the civilized world. We are one of the few allegedly highly educated countries in which so few people are bi- or multi-lingual. Most European countries and a number of Asian ones require students to learn a second language. I live in area where we get a lot of foreign vistors. It always amazes me that so many of the foreign tourists speak English so well. When I comment, they tell me that learning to speak English is a requirement in their schools.

The second language is most often English. Not that I deal with international business but my understanding is that English is the most accepted international language in the business world. So learning English would be of benefit to anybody that does deal with international business.


The other reason many other countries are multi-lingual is their proximity to another (or many other) countries with a different language. My grandfather spoke 7 languages. Where he came from in Europe, if he wanted to be able to converse with his neighbors, it was necessary. This does justify the bi-lingual requirement for businesses near Mexico.

Businesses need to be able to understand their clients/patrons/customers. If having bi-lingual employees aids their business, they are going to require it. It's a very simple rule of business.

To the comment of foreign visitors speaking English; come on over/up/whatever to Elkhart county Indiana. The Mexican immigrants often do not speak any English nor make any effort to learn the native language. I find this insulting. You know, the old, "when in Rome,,,,,"

 

[mitousmom]

I wonder if the Mexican and other Hispanic immigrants of today are that much different than the immigrants to the US throughout our history. Many of the recent immigrants in my area of the country do make an effort to learn some English out of necessity. However, it's my observation that they don't perfect it because they tend to live and socialize with other recent immigrants who speak the same language. However, it is the children of those immigrants who learn to speak English fluently because they attend public schools where English is required to succeed. These 2nd generationers also tend to move beyond their own social community and interact with the larger culture and as they do, they desire to become more like the members of that culture.

That's the same pattern I've heard that existed for other large immigrant groups who came to the US. I have friends who are of Italian, Irish, German, Polish, Chinese, and Japanese descent, who indicate that their immigrant parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. never learned to speak English very well. They sought out other immigrants with whom they socialized and with whom they worked. It was their children who moved beyond the immigrant community to embrace Americanism.

 

[badd2323]

When they make English the official language of the U.S. of A. you might have a better chance with this.

English may not be the "official" language of the U.S. of A., but it is the one we have been useing for the last several hundred years.

To the comment of foreign visitors speaking English; come on over/up/whatever to Elkhart county Indiana. The Mexican immigrants often do not speak any English nor make any effort to learn the native language. I find this insulting. You know, the old, "when in Rome,,,,,"

I don't care if visitors to this country don't speak English, they are just visiting. The people I expect to learn the language are the people who are going to live and work here. I know what you mean by the Mexican immigrants not even trying, I live just outside of Indy and it is the same way here. If you went to another country to live you would rightfully be expected to learn their language. I have no problem with people from other countries coming here to live and trying to make a better life for themselves. The problem I have is with the ones who come here and expect us to change to accommodate them.

My Grandparents were Itialian immigrants and they learned to speak english and were very successful in life. They certianly didn't expect the rest of the U.S. to learn the language of their native country.