Being Bilingual in Spanish a discrimination against job seekers
Public Comments (2,313)
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Oct 15th, 2017Someone from Houston, TX writes:
I worked too hard for my education to be disqualified becuase of my languege. This is america. -
Oct 15th, 2017Sherry A. from Houston, TX writes:
This country needs to stop catering to segments of the population that won't speak English.REPORT COMMENTS
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Oct 13th, 2017Someone from Triangle, VA writes:
I am native born American through no fault of my own. All the jobs I apply for, I have the needed experience for the job. All except speaking Spanish. Being turned down for a position for not speaking a foreign language is 100% racial discrimination and is illegal. If Spanish is such a needed requirement. Then why wasn't it taught in schools? Other countries make English a required language because it assists their citizens in getting employment. So why isn't America changing with the times?REPORT COMMENTS
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Oct 13th, 2017Someone from San Diego, CA writes:
I agree that in the USA, it is discriminatory and unfair to require citizens who have grown up in a culture the chief language of which is English--the main (and for many, exclusive) language of our education, our media, our literature--to be bilingual to accommodate others who choose to live in the US but don't choose to learn English. I've lived all over the world--from Asia to Europe to Latin America--and am expected to learn the languages of my host country. Multilingual service is a luxury, not an entitlement. What's particularly unforgivable about courts upholding as legal bilingual job requirements is that many US citizens already are having great difficulty securing work in our own native country. Imposing an additional barrier to employment is, for many, tantamount to a death sentence.REPORT COMMENTS
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Oct 12th, 2017Someone from Spring Hill, FL writes:
I have applied for 8 positions in my area that that I am well qualified for, but haven't even received a call back from any of them because I don't speak Spanish. I used to live in RI which has a large Hispanic population, but I now live in an area with very few hispanics. I can't believe I can't get a job because I don't speak Spanish in America. It's disgusting.REPORT COMMENTS
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Oct 10th, 2017Someone from Compton, CA writes:
It ****es me off that I have work experience and a college degree. But as I scroll down the job description and requirements I meet everything except bilingual. That's the same feeling when you see the police behind you. I speak the same about of Spanish as a Latino speaks English. If you want to require specifics it needs to be fair across the boardREPORT COMMENTS
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Oct 7th, 2017nadine S. from Marco Island, FL writes:
It is very discriminating to require a language other than the language of the country you are in to be required for employment. The day that this requirement was legally allowed is the day spanish should have been a mandated school subject starting in kindergarten. How dare the USA allow this discrimination to occur. What we should be enforcing is ENGLISH ONLY driving tests, voting, welfare qualification and unemployment qualification.REPORT COMMENTS
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Oct 4th, 2017Michelle K. from Kissimmee, FL writes:
So if you are being discriminated against for using your native language, or because of characteristics having to do with that language, it may be considered the same as if you were being discriminated against because of your national origin. We all should record interview with phones, copy ads the says" Must be bilingual in Spanish. and keep records so we all can start taking action Suing companies. This the USA, If someone does speak English they need to Hire a translator to help the to communicate til they are able to speak English.REPORT COMMENTS
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Oct 3rd, 2017Michelle K. from Kissimmee, FL writes:
Only in the USA you can get discriminated against for not speaking Spanish. Come on NOW! If you come to our country you need to Learn English. I was born and raised in the United States. This is a very big problem. Spanish speaking people are coming into the US and expecting us English speaking Folk to learn there language. I have a very hard time finding work because I am not bilingual. This is not right. Spanish people are not learning English because they really except us to speak Spanish or they will get mad at you for talking to them in English.REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 25th, 2017Alexandra N. from Miami, FL writes:
I have a huge problem to find a job in Miami without the knowledge of Spanish even retail stores refuse to hire me after they ask if I speak Spanish or not.REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 18th, 2017Wyler E. from Fair Lawn, NJ writes:
I believe that when an employer states that prospective employees "must be bilingual" or "bilingual preferred", they should have to pay higher employer taxes (to finance the social welfare costs of non-bilingual American citizens being denied employment). I also believe that when faced with these higher taxes, many employers will "re-evaluate" whether being bilingual is truly "necessary" or "preferred" in their hiring practices!REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 16th, 2017Someone from Sun Valley, CA writes:
I'm not against learning new languages; I encourage it. HOWEVER it's not right for having a specific language become a requirement for a job. It's not fair for Americans who speak the native English. Why should we have to be discriminated this way just because we don't fluently speak other than what we are born in? Our SKILLS should matter MORE than just the one thing of not speaking 3 different languages for a criteria.REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 14th, 2017Maria K. from Las Vegas, NV writes:
How unfair that we Americans who were born in the United states have to compete w other applicants who speak Spanish. My parents are immigrants from Italy who spoke Italian growing up. My primary language is English. Since my husband is German descent my daughter will not have the opportunity to master the Italian language. Why should we have to be passed up for a position based on whether we speak Spanish. Living in Nevada has been real eye opener. Have not seen employersrequiring Spanish speaking a requirement than this stateREPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 14th, 2017Tina S. from Las Vegas, NV writes:
How unfair that we Americans who were born in the United states have to compete w other applicants who speak Spanish. My parents are immigrants from Italy who spoke Italian growing up. My primary language is English. Since my husband is German descent my daughter will not have the opportunity to master the Italian language. Why should we have to be passed up for a position based on whether we speak Spanish. Living in Nevada has been real eye opener. Have not seen employersrequiring Spanish speaking a requirement than this stateREPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 14th, 2017Tina S. from Las Vegas, NV writes:
How unfair that we Americans who were born in the United states have to compete w other applicants who speak Spanish. My parents are immigrants from Italy who spoke Italian growing up. My primary language is English. Since my husband is German descent my daughter will not have the opportunity to master the Italian language. Why should we have to be passed up for a position based on whether we speak Spanish. Living in Nevada has been real eye opener. Have not seen employersrequiring Spanish speaking a requirement than this stateREPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 14th, 2017Tina S. from Las Vegas, NV writes:
How unfair that we Americans who were born in the United states have to compete w other applicants who speak Spanish. My parents are immigrants from Italy who spoke Italian growing up. My primary language is English. Since my husband is German descent my daughter will not have the opportunity to master the Italian language. Why should we have to be passed up for a position based on whether we speak Spanish. Living in Nevada has been real eye opener. Have not seen employersrequiring Spanish speaking a requirement than this stateREPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 10th, 2017Toni P. from Laveen, AZ writes:
I am having a very hard time finding a job in my field that doesn't require me to speak Spanish. I called Human Recourses at the hospital where I applied for several jobs I was qualified for. They told me due to the high population of Spanish speaking only people that frequented this hospital, I had to speak Spanish. How is this possible in this day and age, I live in Phoenix, AZ we have hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in our state.REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 9th, 2017Someone from San Diego, CA writes:
Its just ridiculous that because of a foreigner refusing to speak English in America, I cannot get a job because I don't speak their language! Were companies asking Americans to speak Vietnamese and Cambodian when refugees came from those countries during the Vietnam war? Were companies asking Americans to speak Arabic or Farsi when refugees came from the Middle East during the Gulf War, the Irag War and now the Syrian Civil War? No! So why are we as Americans required to speak a language that was not taught in our homes or schools as we were growing up?! It doesn't make sense!REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 5th, 2017Someone from Orlando, FL writes:
I am so tired of everywhere you go in Central Florida no one speaks English, it's like I live in a foreign country, Employees in stores are speaking Spanish and very loud and I am applying for jobs and they want you to be bilingual and why I live in America and the language is English and if you live here get government benefits and or work you need to speak English and I am sick of companies catering to these non-Americans. If you love your little Island so much go back !REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 5th, 2017Someone from Orlando, FL writes:
I am so tired of everywhere you go in Central Florida no one speaks English, it's like I live in a foreign country, Employees in stores are speaking Spanish and very loud and I am applying for jobs and they want you to be bilingual and why I live in America and the language is English and if you live here get government benefits and or work you need to speak English and I am sick of companies catering to these non-Americans. If you love your little Island so much go back !REPORT COMMENTS
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Sep 4th, 2017Someone from Hialeah, FL signed.
Aug 30th, 2017Someone from Bakersfield, CA writes:
Make america only speak ENGLISH again!!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 30th, 2017Someone from Denver, CO writes:
I have had to pass on applying for MANY good jobs because they require you speak Spanish. Though it would be nice if we all could speak many languages, it should not be a requirement that we do. Seems antithetical to the freedoms that are considered so precious.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 28th, 2017Jessica L. from Highland, CA writes:
I just got off of the phone from a recruiter, who was rather rude and unprofessional. She stated that I must be bilingual to be a Health and Safety Manager at the company because it is a requirement. I said, "I think that's asking a bit much" without implying too much that it isn't fair. I have 8 years of management experience, 2 years of grade 3 lab, 10+ in Regulatory, and in the workforce for a total of 17 years. It's a deal breaker because I am not fluent. I even told her I know a little and am actually taking lessons to get better. I am so frustrated and it's not fair, my grandparents didn't have to learn a whole new language or people didn't have to hit 1 for German or Italian back then. This is an outrage! I am still unemployed since February. Having an education is just not enough anymore. You have to cater to the majority illegal irresponsible hispanics with households of 5-14. How do we go about presenting this problem and getting legislation to make this a discrimination?REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 27th, 2017Paul from Sebastian, FL writes:
If we didn't have years of our government turning a blind eye to illegal immigration, then we wouldn't be in this mess. One requirement, for citizenship status, is for immigrants to learn or at least be functional in English. Not adhering to the law's of our land cause unwanted, unfair and discriminatory issues such as this. My advice...always keep lube and a condom, because the government will screw you every time. Some people just don't think about the unintended consequences.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 27th, 2017Someone from San Antonio, TX writes:
While I embrace a person being able to speak multiple languages, I however feel that being able to speak multiple languages should be considered and additional benefit when considering candidates, it should not be a requirement. This has opened the door to discriminatory hiring. Very frustrating indeed.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 26th, 2017Nicole H. from Beltsville, MD writes:
I completely agree. It is no fair that qualifies applicants are discouraged from applying for jobs solely on the basis of not being fluent in Spanish.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2017Someone from Upper Marlboro, MD writes:
I agree that it is discriminatory to require bilingual (Spanish) language requirements n the human services work force. There are positions that serve the immigrant and Hispanic populations which are limiting the cultural diversity of its work environment by requiring that the individuals working within the human services and/or healthcare fields speak Spanish as a second language. Many qualified, and overly-qualified individuals are being overlooked in these two occupational fields despite their ability to bring quality to the workforce. When there are educational, experiential and credentialed requirements to fulfill a position, the ability to speak Spanish narrows the population that can work in that field, despite the fact that speaking Spanish is often not a skill, but is an ethnic experience. There are so many hard working, educated and experienced persons looking for employment who meet the educational and licensure requirements for a position that are being overlooked for the sake of less educated, less experienced, less credentialed employees who can simply interact linguistically with the population that is seeking more entitlements than other American-raised individuals. Companies should be required to teach the language skills that are specific to the job the employee will perform, as a part of the orientation and training process in order for the employee to interact better with the clientele. This should not be a requirement of the employee to seek these skills, themselves, when they would only use a limited amount of the language, and they do not use the language in their daily functioning outside of the operations of that job.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2017Someone from Upper Marlboro, MD writes:
I agree that it is discriminatory to require bilingual (Spanish) language requirements n the human services work force. There are positions that serve the immigrant and Hispanic populations which are limiting the cultural diversity of its work environment by requiring that the individuals working within the human services and/or healthcare fields speak Spanish as a second language. Many qualified, and overly-qualified individuals are being overlooked in these two occupational fields despite their ability to bring quality to the workforce. When there are educational, experiential and credentialed requirements to fulfill a position, the ability to speak Spanish narrows the population that can work in that field, despite the fact that speaking Spanish is often not a skill, but is an ethnic experience. There are so many hard working, educated and experienced persons looking for employment who meet the educational and licensure requirements for a position that are being overlooked for the sake of less educated, less experienced, less credentialed employees who can simply interact linguistically with the population that is seeking more entitlements than other American-raised individuals. Companies should be required to teach the language skills that are specific to the job the employee will perform, as a part of the orientation and training process in order for the employee to interact better with the clientele. This should not be a requirement of the employee to seek these skills, themselves, when they would only use a limited amount of the language, and they do not use the language in their daily functioning outside of the operations of that job.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 25th, 2017Christine W. from Upper Marlboro, MD writes:
I agree that it is discriminatory to require bilingual (Spanish) language requirements n the human services work force. There are positions that serve the immigrant and Hispanic populations which are limiting the cultural diversity of its work environment by requiring that the individuals working within the human services and/or healthcare fields speak Spanish as a second language. Many qualified, and overly-qualified individuals are being overlooked in these two occupational fields despite their ability to bring quality to the workforce. When there are educational, experiential and credentialed requirements to fulfill a position, the ability to speak Spanish narrows the population that can work in that field, despite the fact that speaking Spanish is often not a skill, but is an ethnic experience. There are so many hard working, educated and experienced persons looking for employment who meet the educational and licensure requirements for a position that are being overlooked for the sake of less educated, less experienced, less credentialed employees who can simply interact linguistically with the population that is seeking more entitlements than other American-raised individuals. Companies should be required to teach the language skills that are specific to the job the employee will perform, as a part of the orientation and training process in order for the employee to interact better with the clientele. This should not be a requirement of the employee to seek these skills, themselves, when they would only use a limited amount of the language, and they do not use the language in their daily functioning outside of the operations of that job.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 19th, 2017Someone from Miami, FL signed.
Aug 18th, 2017Someone from Gardena, CA writes:
I once got a job repairing commercial garage doors and the owner of the company would brief a group of workers in Spanish and then come talk to me in English every morning. The problem however was that it was 8 people who spoke Spanish and just me that spoke English. I was fired shortly after I started and the only real reason could have been that I didnt fit in because I didnt speak Spanish. In Los Angeles now nearly every job posting I see online says Bilingual prefered. I just saw one that even spelled English incorrectly but said Spanish is a requirement.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 17th, 2017Someone from Pompano Beach, FL writes:
85% of jobs advertised in South Florida have a requirement for you to be bilingual in Spanish. This leaves a mere handful of jobs that I am eligible to apply for, along with the other thousands of people who do not speak Spanish. This is NOT Spain, Spanish is not the first language.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 15th, 2017Lesley F. from Corsicana, TX writes:
I have applied for jobs that are required to be bilingual to speak Spanish, which I do not. I received a call from one the employers stating I didn't get considered for the job because I do not speak Spanish. This is discrimination! I was born and raised in America and should not be required to speak Spanish if all the Hispanics that live in America are not required to speak ENGLISH! I should get an interpreter just as they do to get a job that requires you to be bilingual!REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 14th, 2017Noelle M. from Saint Cloud, FL writes:
I was unexpectedly laid off last October and have become very distressed by all the job postings that said bilingual is a MUST. Let me also just state that my parental family (great-grandparents) immigrated to the States from Hungary in the 1800s....so I have nothing against immigrants. With the exception of our Native American residents, our country was founded by immigrants from all over Europe!! The difference between immigrants then and now however is that back then, you paid your dues in the sense that you learned the English language and worked hard to make your mark and establish a name for yourself in your new country. Now, some immigrants seem to not even care enough to learn to functionally speak English and simply hold their hands out for the next welfare check and to top it off, SO many businesses in Central Florida seem to almost cater to Spanish speaking employees. Example: I was speaking with the office manager at a local HOMS realty who asked (in perfect English mind you) if I spoke Spanish. She then went on the state that 80% of people in her office were Spanish speaking so their receptionist "had" to as well. This was so rude and inaccurate! If a client came in and spoke no English whatsoever, someone else in the office could have assisted with no problem but what she was saying is that they did not want someone there unless they spoke their native tongue which is discriminatory and just plain wrong. I also find it extremely discriminatory that businesses are not only blantanlty listing one must speak Spanish, particularly in the field I've been searching in (Real Estate Administrative/ Contract Admin) Why?? Please help......someone? ANYONE.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 7th, 2017Jose D. from Lynn, MA writes:
So true it's not fair and a well known bank would not hire my wife because she did not speak Spanish and she is qualified with degrees she worked her butt off forREPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 3rd, 2017Someone from Stamford, CT writes:
I'm not being racist-prejudice, just want someone to hear me out-my experience. 43 years old. Most of my jobs have been in construction as an Admin-office manager. It is unreal how many jobs I am definitely qualified for but for one reason I don't get considered. I don't speak Spanish. Explain to me how this is right. It's even harder that I do not have a 4 year degree and I'm older. Someone acknowledge this is an issue. Most companies say must be bilingual. Are we to assume in Spanish. I'm bilingual Greek.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 3rd, 2017Someone from Keyes, CA writes:
Bilingual is a requirement of those that want to come over the border, cross the sea, fly over or just make a new life and live in the USA. If you want to stay here learn English! Not the other way around. . America is great. Everyone wants to be here. Let them learn our language. ENGLISH,REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 3rd, 2017Jennifer B. from Keyes, CA writes:
Hey maybe so people wouldn't be on welfare and food stamps if they could get that job that they are qualified for regardless of being bilingual. This is the USA, we speak and learn English in most everything we do. If others don't want to learn it they should understand that it will be hard to communicate with others in America. and perhaps they would be more motivated to to learn our language if it was English only or English required for most everything or at the very least bring their own translator. This bilingual only crap is discriminatory against our own national citizens and just caters to people who refuse to adopt the culture of their hosting country that they want to have their new better life in as well as encouraging more of it.our own citizens will be on welfare aid while every other illegal or anchor baby will have the jobs that are rightfully and deserving to Americans that have ancestry in this country. I'm not against learning a new language but why Spanish? To accommodate people that can cross a border and collect free government benefits I paid for (while I still have my job) but yet too lazy to learn anything about our country unless it has to do with supporting all their family members. California is the worst.REPORT COMMENTS
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No, CancelAug 2nd, 2017Someone from Pasadena, CA writes:
I was recently told that I should not apply for a job that I was well qualified for, because I was not bilingual.This isn't the first time I was not hired based on my inability to speak - in this case- fluent Spanish. I see this as a violation of my civil rights as an American Citizen .I don't speak a foreign language so I don't qualify for a position in the United States of America, the country I was born and raised in , because of this? That is discrimination period! I hope we get enough Americans Citizen job seekers who also have been discriminated against in this manner so that we can force employers to hire based on qualification the ability to speak English FITST.! I am sick and tired of this country catering to people who are too lazy to learn English and are not willing to assimilate o out American society.!REPORT COMMENTS
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