I applied for a job that requires the applicant to speak fluent spanish.?

Rachel_S165

I don't think so. If the job responsibilities require you to be in regular contact with Spanish speaking people, its reasonable for them to expect you to be able to speak Spanish fluently in order to do the job properly. Lots of American citizens who are not of Latino or Hispanic ancestry speak fluent Spanish -- maybe they studied it in school or spent time traveling or living in Spanish speaking countries. Fluency in foreign languages is a marketable job skill, just like knowledge of accounting practices, or engineering, or the law, or whatever, are marketable skills.

If you had no background whatsoever in accounting, and the company refused to hire you as their comptroller, would you accuse them of discrimination against non-accounting personnel?

kt_b_blue

Discriminatory against american citizens?

Are you kidding me? How ridiculous can you get?

Its the same as if the requirements were for you to type 50 words per minute. If you don't, isn't that discriminatory towards people who only type 25 wpm?
If its a company that requires you to lift 75 lbs, and you can only lift 30, is that discriminatory?

If the job is for a spanish speaking customer service operator, then, um, you need to speak spanish. Its not discriminatory, it's simply a requirement. Obviously, people calling in or coming in will be speaking spanish, and you need to be able to help them.

Any lawyer will laugh you out of his office if you bring this in. But good luck anyhow.

hr4me

No, a company can require fluency in another language as a requirement for the job. It would only be illegal if they said that applicants must be a specific race, religion, political party, etc. An equal opportunity employer does not mean that they can not have a language requirement - especially if there is a business need for that position to be able to speak two languages. (Most clients or customers speak spanish so they need someone in Accounting/Billing/Customer Service who can communicate with them)

blogger

Some employers feel the need to advertise that they only want someone who is bilingual in Spanish. They seem to forget that this is AMERICA and we speak ENGLISH here.

When I see jobs that list bilingual, or Spanish speaking a must etc, I don't apply. Obviously they want to cater to illegal immigrants, because if they were here legally, they would speak fluent ENGLISH.

Unfortunately, there is no law to stop them from discrinating for them wanting spanish only. (and yes I do belive it IS discrimination to deny someone a job because they do not speak a foreign language)

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: