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| California State Senate approves bill banning language discrimination |
| 2009-04-18 |
| Alarmed that a professional golf association proposed to exclude competitors who donÂ’t speak English, the state Senate acted today to prohibit businesses in California from discriminating against customers, including refusing them service, based on the language they use. The Ladies Professional Golf Assn. last year backed down from a policy that would have suspended golfers who do not speak adequate English on the premise that language fluency in speeches and media interviews was critical to the sport's promotion efforts. The golfers were considered "patrons" of the LPGA, not employees. State Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) said the policy raised an issue that required changes to state civil rights laws that already protect employees from discrimination based on language. "I donÂ’t understand the connection between speaking English and playing golf," Yee said on the Senate floor. "This is really about protecting our ability to speak the language that we wish." Yee recalled as a young boy going to a San Francisco hardware store with an uncle who was mistreated because of his lack of proficiency in English. SB 242, which now goes to the Assembly, was approved on a 21-15 vote, with Republican lawmakers opposed based on concern it would open businesses up to a rash of civil rights lawsuits if customers felt they did not get good service. Yee noted the bill protects English speakers as well from being discriminated against by non-English-speaking business owners. The bill includes an exemption that says firms can require a specific language to be spoken if it is justified by a "business necessity," such as clear communications for safety, and that notification is provided as to when and where the language restriction is to be observed. The bill drew concerns from U.S. English, a group that promotes English-only policies. Rob Toonkel, a spokesman for the group, said it makes good sense for businesses to treat customers well. "Where we have concern is putting language on par with unchangeable characteristics," Toonkel said. "You canÂ’t change your gender. You canÂ’t change your disability. You can change the language you speak. You can learn to say, 'IÂ’d like a hamburger.' " |
| Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC |
| #6 It seems to me that an adequate defense is ignorance. If someone cannot communicate in a language that you understand, there is no way to complete a transaction of any kind. In this case, the professional golf association should have made a requirement for competitors to read a complex legal document in English, and to explain it to a satisfactory degree in layman's terms. This would be done with the excuse of avoiding legal liability, clearly following some complex federal rule, or any number of documents that only someone proficient in English could understand or explain. As such, they could not be done by proxy, that is, an English speaking lawyer, but only by the competitors themself. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-04-18 21:43 |
| #5 Back in the 90's when I was a personnel director for a delivery service in Washington, D.C.; a man applied for a as a driver with the phrase ... "Inna yob"... When I asked (three times) if he could speak and/or read English, he replied with the same phrase. When I informed him of our minimum language requirements (the ability to read and speak the language of our clients) he was incensed by my "bigotry and racism". Some things never change. |
| Posted by: WolfDog 2009-04-18 20:10 |
| #4 I can see calling 911 in a couple of years might be a real adventure..... |
| Posted by: Zenobia Ebbealing3894 2009-04-18 17:16 |
| #3 Next they will be suing us because we can't speak spanish or any other language that a person living in CA might speak. |
| Posted by: Gluting Fillmore6653 2009-04-18 15:22 |
| #2 so McD will have to have about a gazillion signs with each item listed in multiple languages [you just wait for the law suits - big pockets]. Those safety signs in English and Spanish, just wait till the walls are covered in all the languages spoken in LA. Welcome to the tower of Babel. Meanwhile, literally millions of Chinese are studying English. Switzerland, the land of four official languages, has made English the second language to learn in school. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-04-18 10:03 |
| #1 "I kan haz cheezeburger"? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2009-04-18 09:54 |