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Not fluent in Arabic yet, but I can understand a great deal of it. I'd say I'm an intermediate level. I keep up with it with books and friends I have that speak it fluently, but the goal is to get the funding and go back to school for a degree or at least a certificate in Arabic. I can speak German fluently.
Depends on the job though; Fedex recently lost a court case over their lifting requirement, which created a disparate impact against women. The investigation determined that while yes, there was this lifting requirement, only a small percent of packages ever weighed this much, and all of the men testified that they even get assistance when it weighed this much.
So, to compare this to a language requirement; there could be a requirement, but is it a bona fide requirement? Is the off chance of having to speak Spanish two times a year warrant excluding an entire pool of otherwise qualified applicants? This does not just apply to Spanish, but to English and any language.
Apples and oranges.
Gender is a protected class and developing employment requirements that exclude without basis a protected class is discrimination. In the Fedex case, the lifting requirements were without basis and as a result, it was females that were being excluded by the requirement. Their physical ability was not a learned skill but a trait based on their gender they had no control over when they were born.
But, having a requirement to speak a language isn't excluding any protected class; just those without a learned skill. Those who can not speak another language weren't born with the inability to speak another language, they just didn't learn one. That makes it a personal choice decision fully under your control.
As an employer, I have reasons to require language skills in addition to english. I make that decision to have it as a requirement just like I make a decision to have a university education, a specific skill set, an ability to manage certain stressful situations, and have a clean background. The fact that so many Americans didn't learn a foreign language just put them at a disadvantage like anyone lacking a certain skill an employer is looking for. If I can't hire americans with the required language skills, I'll hire immigrants who have it. If there are no immigrants, I'll apply for work visas and get someone, but I will get someone who has the learned skill to speak the language I require. You can embrace the changing global nature of the workforce, or you can sit on the sidelines; the choice is yours.
Making this into a flag waving, god bless america, anti-foreigner (spanish anything) sound bite just shows the arrogance and ignorance of today's the american workforce.
More and more U.S. jobs are requiring fluent Spanish speaking as a prerequisite for consideration. This is wrong on many levels, including the fact that the schools systems in the States do not prioritize or focus on fluency in other languages.
How do you all feel about this?
It's not like English is the official language of the United States. Get over it. Being bilingual makes you more culturally aware... Open your eyes and get over yourself, OP.
Gender is a protected class and developing employment requirements that exclude without basis a protected class is discrimination. In the Fedex case, the lifting requirements were without basis and as a result, it was females that were being excluded by the requirement. Their physical ability was not a learned skill but a trait based on their gender they had no control over when they were born.
But, having a requirement to speak a language isn't excluding any protected class; just those without a learned skill. Those who can not speak another language weren't born with the inability to speak another language, they just didn't learn one. That makes it a personal choice decision fully under your control.
As an employer, I have reasons to require language skills in addition to english. I make that decision to have it as a requirement just like I make a decision to have a university education, a specific skill set, an ability to manage certain stressful situations, and have a clean background. The fact that so many Americans didn't learn a foreign language just put them at a disadvantage like anyone lacking a certain skill an employer is looking for. If I can't hire americans with the required language skills, I'll hire immigrants who have it. If there are no immigrants, I'll apply for work visas and get someone, but I will get someone who has the learned skill to speak the language I require. You can embrace the changing global nature of the workforce, or you can sit on the sidelines; the choice is yours.
Making this into a flag waving, god bless america, anti-foreigner (spanish anything) sound bite just shows the arrogance and ignorance of today's the american workforce.
It is not apples and oranges, language is a protected class that falls under "national origin" discrimination; you can easy just Google this stuff and see for yourself including the EEOC rule on language discrimination, including the successful lawsuits based on language discrimination.
The Fedex case was an example of a seemingly bona fide occupational requirement, when in reality it was not.
"The fact that so many Americans didn't learn a foreign language just put them at a disadvantage like anyone lacking a certain skill an employer is looking for."
Versus who, the immigrants that come to the US and do not learn another language? Let alone the primary one used the country they immigrated to? Do you have any criticism of these immigrants that do not learn a second language? Or is this criticism just aimed at Americans?
"You can embrace the changing global nature of the workforce, or you can sit on the sidelines; the choice is yours."
I work in a language (two actually) other than English, so you can save your speech for someone else.
It's not like English is the official language of the United States. Get over it. Being bilingual makes you more culturally aware... Open your eyes and get over yourself, OP.
So, those immigrants coming here that only know one language, they are not culturally aware?
One of the reasons is when a factory, warehouse, or construction crew has a majority (or all) of a certain group of people whose first language is not English. This is not just with Spanish. I see it with Polish and Russian too, depending on the area. So while they speak English, it may not be great or fluent, and it would not make sense to have the majority change their language for a minority of people who only speak English.
More and more U.S. jobs are requiring fluent Spanish speaking as a prerequisite for consideration. This is wrong on many levels, including the fact that the schools systems in the States do not prioritize or focus on fluency in other languages.
How do you all feel about this?
My school system definitely did focus on being able to speak multiple languages. It didn't tell you which languages you had to choose.
It's no more wrong than a job requiring ethics or any other knowledge. Schools don't teach everything.
So, those immigrants coming here that only know one language, they are not culturally aware?
Generally, immigrants are more culturally aware. Western culture is more observable in the media in other countries. Additionally, other countries are smaller and it's not uncommon to travel by car or train through multiple countries with different cultures.
The U.S. has a large amount of people that never travel outside of the nation... and it's so large that it's not a common thing to do.
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