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Phil_Osophy

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So.... i have a question. Should employers have the right to refuse employment because someone cant speak english?

Disclaimer: this is not about any specific "race" or language. Just about legal immigrants who cant speak english.

So, at work today i got really frustrated trying to communicate with someone who didnt speak very much english. Only a tiny bit. Not nearly enough to hold a conversation.
Im a leader in the workplace, so from time to time i have to ask someone to do something or for information. Its really hard to communicate with a person who cant speak english. I asked this person to not throw out the damaged products of the particular job we were doing because i have to keep count and record of them. This person didnt have a clue what i was asking and continued to throw out the damaged products.

Long story short, it made my job a lot harder and a thought hit my head; why are people who cant speak english even hired in the first place? How did this person make it through the process and interview with such little grasp on the language?

I think that employers should be allowed to deny employment to those who cant speak english. Im not saying they shouldnt be allowed to hire them, but i think they deserve a choice in this matter. What do you think?
 
So.... i have a question. Should employers have the right to refuse employment because someone cant speak english?

Disclaimer: this is not about any specific "race" or language. Just about legal immigrants who cant speak english.

So, at work today i got really frustrated trying to communicate with someone who didnt speak very much english. Only a tiny bit. Not nearly enough to hold a conversation.
Im a leader in the workplace, so from time to time i have to ask someone to do something or for information. Its really hard to communicate with a person who cant speak english. I asked this person to not throw out the damaged products of the particular job we were doing because i have to keep count and record of them. This person didnt have a clue what i was asking and continued to throw out the damaged products.

Long story short, it made my job a lot harder and a thought hit my head; why are people who cant speak english even hired in the first place? How did this person make it through the process and interview with such little grasp on the language?

I think that employers should be allowed to deny employment to those who cant speak english. Im not saying they shouldnt be allowed to hire them, but i think they deserve a choice in this matter. What do you think?
Jobs in SoCal seem to have all kinds of language requirements. So I'm not sure why you think they can't.
 
So.... i have a question. Should employers have the right to refuse employment because someone cant speak english?

Disclaimer: this is not about any specific "race" or language. Just about legal immigrants who cant speak english.

So, at work today i got really frustrated trying to communicate with someone who didnt speak very much english. Only a tiny bit. Not nearly enough to hold a conversation.
Im a leader in the workplace, so from time to time i have to ask someone to do something or for information. Its really hard to communicate with a person who cant speak english. I asked this person to not throw out the damaged products of the particular job we were doing because i have to keep count and record of them. This person didnt have a clue what i was asking and continued to throw out the damaged products.

Long story short, it made my job a lot harder and a thought hit my head; why are people who cant speak english even hired in the first place? How did this person make it through the process and interview with such little grasp on the language?

I think that employers should be allowed to deny employment to those who cant speak english. Im not saying they shouldnt be allowed to hire them, but i think they deserve a choice in this matter. What do you think?

Sounds as if taking a course in conversational or workplace Spanish will be very helpful to you.
 
So.... i have a question. Should employers have the right to refuse employment because someone cant speak english?

Not if they are hiring mimes.
 
I do believe that English is the language of our nation and it annoys me that my neighbors, who are good folks, speak Spanish to their little kids.

Also, being bi-lingual adds value to the employee because, well, so many people come here and don't bother learning English and we have accommodated this to the point of absurdity. Now in some jobs, I suppose it doesn't matter but I would not likely hire a non-english speaking employee. But all it takes is one good amnesty and Spanish will become our primary language. I suppose this is continent appropriate but I still dread the day.

For English press 4.
 
Sounds as if taking a course in conversational or workplace Spanish will be very helpful to you.

I am learning spanish. This person wasnt a spanish speaker, so the little spanish i know wouldnt have helped.
 
This is a poll?
 
So.... i have a question. Should employers have the right to refuse employment because someone cant speak english?

Disclaimer: this is not about any specific "race" or language. Just about legal immigrants who cant speak english.

So, at work today i got really frustrated trying to communicate with someone who didnt speak very much english. Only a tiny bit. Not nearly enough to hold a conversation.
Im a leader in the workplace, so from time to time i have to ask someone to do something or for information. Its really hard to communicate with a person who cant speak english. I asked this person to not throw out the damaged products of the particular job we were doing because i have to keep count and record of them. This person didnt have a clue what i was asking and continued to throw out the damaged products.

Long story short, it made my job a lot harder and a thought hit my head; why are people who cant speak english even hired in the first place? How did this person make it through the process and interview with such little grasp on the language?

I think that employers should be allowed to deny employment to those who cant speak english. Im not saying they shouldnt be allowed to hire them, but i think they deserve a choice in this matter. What do you think?

I think that you have a very valid point. How dumb is your boss? Obviously it is important that employees can understand their supervisors and coworkers, not only for following simple instructions but for understanding safety and communicating any dangers or hazards observed. I worked on a construction (framing) job and we were instructed not to use finger jointed studs for erecting our temporary scaffolding, but the non-English speaking crew did that anyway and severely injured two workers when the scaffolding (built with finger jointed lumber) collapsed.
 
Sounds as if taking a course in conversational or workplace Spanish will be very helpful to you.

I see an assumption being made that the worker being discussed was not from China, Russia, India or France. ;)
 
I think that you have a very valid point. How dumb is your boss? Obviously it is important that employees can understand their supervisors and coworkers, not only for following simple instructions but for understanding safety and communicating any dangers or hazards observed. I worked on a construction (framing) job and we were instructed not to use finger jointed studs for erecting our temporary scaffolding, but the non-English speaking crew did that anyway and severely injured two workers when the scaffolding (built with finger jointed lumber) collapsed.

Because the mortality rate of Hispanic construction workers was so much higher than other workers', ten+ years ago forward-thinking companies began offering bilingual safety training. I think this is essential. Whatever one's opinion on "English first," this is a matter of workplace safety. And too many folks eager to work are going to say, "Si, comprendo!" when they actually don't.
 
A private employer should be able to deny employment for any damn reason he or she wants.

This is just another.
 
A private employer should be able to deny employment for any damn reason he or she wants.

This is just another.

I agree here. But this is a pretty good reason. Im just wondering if anybody thinks employers shouldnt be able to deny employment for this reason.
 
Very good:)

(unless you need to give the mimes instructions in which case....)

Telling a mime what to do is like telling a camel how to shake his humps.

(Supposed to be an actual quote from Marcel Marceau, but I cannot find a reference, in either language).
 
Because the mortality rate of Hispanic construction workers was so much higher than other workers', ten+ years ago forward-thinking companies began offering bilingual safety training. I think this is essential. Whatever one's opinion on "English first," this is a matter of workplace safety. And too many folks eager to work are going to say, "Si, comprendo!" when they actually don't.

That may be wonderful for those that speak Spanish, but of little value for those speaking various other languages. The best bet is to have one language common among all workers on a crew.
 
So.... i have a question. Should employers have the right to refuse employment because someone cant speak english?

I believe they should.

I lived in El Paso for 6 years, and it always bothered me when I would go to a local store (and I am talking a major department store chain), and have cashiers who could not speak English. My belief is that if you are going to work here, you need to be able to speak the language.

And before anybody even tries to accuse me of discrimination, you have to realize that my wife shares the same beliefs. And she was not born in the US. She moved here when she was 17, and when we first met I could barely understand her. In the years since we first met, she has become perfectly fluent in English (to the point where most are surprised to learn she was born in South America), and she finds it offensive when people who live here do not even try to learn the native language.
 
You have the right to refuse employment based on language, you need employees to be able to communicate with each other and communicate with potential customers. You could take the Quebec approach and require a certain language be spoken in certain businesses. Being bilingual does help especially here in Canada.
 
That may be wonderful for those that speak Spanish, but of little value for those speaking various other languages. The best bet is to have one language common among all workers on a crew.

That might be helpful "tomorrow," but it's not helpful "today." What percent of construction crews are from non-English and non-Spanish speaking countries?
 
You have the right to refuse employment based on language, you need employees to be able to communicate with each other and communicate with potential customers. You could take the Quebec approach and require a certain language be spoken in certain businesses. Being bilingual does help especially here in Canada.

That it does, you can swear at people in 2 languages that way!

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If they cannot speak English, their job interview will not go so well. Regardless, a lot of our own forefathers came to the US unable to speak English.
 
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