Posted on 07/08/2014 8:59:59 AM PDT by John Semmens
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is suing Wisconsin Plastics, Inc. of Green Bay, Wisconsin for discriminating against non-native persons by insisting that employees must be conversant in English in order to hold jobs with the company.
Jacqueline Berrien, EEOC Chairperson dismissed the possibility that some minimal competence in the English language might be a legitimate skill required of an employee. "Whether an employee understands English is a matter of convenience for the business,":Berrien explained. "Granted, conducting business in a single language might be more efficient. But the individual's right to speak whatever language he chooses is a human right. And human rights take precedence over economic efficiency."
"The employer has the option of hiring translators to act as intermediaries between workers and managers who speak different languages," Berrien pointed out. "They can also purchase insurance to cover any damages that might occur due to mishaps springing from miscommunications rooted in language barriers."
Berrien conceded that barring firms from requiring English comprehension among employees would raise the cost of doing business, but insisted that "this is a small price to pay for preserving individual human rights. Besides, the extra costs imposed on Wisconsin Plastics would be offset by the added employment of translators, insurance vendors, and tort lawyers."
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Opinion/158916-2014-07-04-semi-news-a-satire-of-recent-news-july-6-2014.htm
They got me.
ridiculous...
Pure lunacy.
How can you even be hired if you can’t communicate during the interview...or during training???
Does the EEOC really think a “language intermediary” will protect the company from liability in the event of a language miscommunication that is at the root of a work-related death or injury?
I’ll bet not.
You have the right to speak Spanish/Mandarin/Greek/Ebonics. I have the right to fail to understand that you are asking for work, and to send you away because I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Didn’t check for satire, just sounded believable!
Exactly where is that handy list of “human rights?”
There are some parts of Texas where you won’t be able to get a job if you can’t speak fluent Spanish and/or Tex-Mex. Employees in every gas station I’ve been to lately in the Houston suburbs converses quite well with the Mexican customers. Our family speaks English only and quit going to Sonic and Subway when we no longer could understand what the employees were trying to say.
Original article for further reading - not satire.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3175282/posts
Okay so where do I find a Lawyer who ONLY speaks ancient Aramaic to present my case to this court?
We get Spanish speaking customers at the hardware store I work at and if one asks for something in Spanish, I just shrug my shoulders and tell them, "Speak English here".
MORONIC!
Berrien should be held fiscally responsible for every penny of loss incurred by every company that is compelled to obey this unabashedly insane rule.
Maybe Berrien and her friends get a kick out of speaking Kilngon, but I'm not going to hire them.
Do employers have to pay them?
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