Hispanic worker sues for injury; Couldn't read warning sign in English...

-As it stands it a legitimate case for a myriad of reason.

That said, its ridiculous and its time we declare English as the official language... But it will never happen.

Half my heritage is from Sicily. They came here in the early 1900s and lived in Italian neighborhoods . Even my great, great grandfather who came literally off the boat learned to read basic English. My Grandfather had no choice but to become fluent in both languages.

This is the way its always been. This is how it should be, but isnt. I have doctors now I cannot communicate with because they only grasp the basics of the language- Recently I complained that a certain painkiller gave me "vertigo" and I would rather have something weaker- The ER Doctor (who could barely speak English) had no clue what I was talking about and I had to stop and explain it to him in simple terms- No big deal. BUT, had I been trying to describe a symptom I was having, this could have led to not being able to properly explain what was wrong with me- And thus not get proper care.

I also have had to work Construction projects with Non English crews. They would have one which "spoke English" and all of our requests and direction had to be relayed from one person, to another and then to the crew. This caused major issues and yet was mandated by law that we employed these crews (although most were English speaking)

-Lines need drawn. We are not going to stop immigration, it isnt happening and both Democrats and Republicans have reasons to want to keep the influx of voters and cheap labor- Now we need to safeguard our Language through Law or we are facing some very major issues very soon.

Could you show me where it says that somebody sued? All I see is that a complaint was filed with EEOC.

Could you show me where attorney Tim Markham is her attorney? Nowhere does it say he represents anyone.

and regardless of what the reason, doesn't a legal immigrant or citizen have a right to file any complaint they so desire against their employer with the appropriate government agency?

me thinks somebody just angry because someone don't speak English in the US, but employer knew this when they hired them in the first place.

This is a bunch of b.s, these people need to learn our english or get out. I'm tired of us catering to their every whim.

It was a warning sign right? Well any warning sign i've ever seen is obvious it's a WARNING sign, whether you understand it word for word or not. They are meant to be simple so even children can grasp that there is DANGER ahead.

I smell a lie, seems like they just want to sue (no doubt to send it all to their family in another country).

I spent some time in Germany and I sucked at speaking German but you know what I tried, I ordered my food in German and learned basic German to get around and I did this knowing I was not going to be living there forever. These people suppossedly plan to live here forever and they refuse our language still, enough is enough.

You know what, maybe my family will start to only speak klingon and then people will have to translate for us because we will be a minority and..... well hey what's better than being a United States American living in USA? i'll tell you..... a minority living in USA.

I hope the school doesn't buckle under the pressure.

Originally posted by suz62
You want to live and work in the United States then learn the language. We speak English.

You want to speak Spanish go back to Mexico.

Or those parts of the United States that started off speaking Spanish like Florida, Texas or the entire West Coast. After all I am sure in those parts of America where Spanish was what was spoken that people learned it instead of showing up and expecting everybody to speak English because they did. It is scary how little history Americans seem to know.

Originally posted by daskakik

Originally posted by abecedarian
OSHA signage regulations.
Nowhere does it specify language.

But it does say:

1910.145(f)(4)(iv)
The signal word and the major message shall be understandable to all employees who may be exposed to the identified hazard.

edit on 10-5-2013 by daskakik because: (no reason given)

Maybe you should have read that page you took that little snip-it from. No where on that page does it state warning signs needed to be printed in English and Spanish or any other language.
www.osha.gov...

Originally posted by intrepid

Campus operators said there is no state law requiring complete translations. It is standard at other universities in Colorado.

Sounds like it's a common practice to have warnings translated but these guys got caught with their pants down.

More to the point...a frivolous and questionable lawsuit in hopes of a quick fortune? Sounds like this "Hispanic" has acclimated to American culture perfectly

If this case results in a damage award, will it they be necessary to give employees an English proficiency test before they can work for a company?

If warning signs/labels are only listed in English, then it seems to me that you need to be proficient in English to work in those areas.

reply to post by guohua


Hey...and also..If warning signs are going to be posted only in English...and staff are at risk of getting injured if they can't read english...then they should require the ability to read english for the job...HR 101

Oh...but English literate employees cost so much more!...Then translate the signs!...Exploitive, cheap, MFers...

It just goes to show these immigrants that living and working in an English-speaking country and refusing to learn the language, can actually put themselves in danger. If they bother to learn a few sentences of basic English, they would be able to read basic warning signs and save themselves pain and injury. It's outrageous to blame others for consequences which arise because they choose not to learn the language of their host country.

Anyway, any warning signs I see these days also have a icon on them too with an image displaying the hazard concerned, poison = skull and bones, roadworks = pic of man digging, flammable = pic of flames, fire exit = man running for a door, etc. Do they do this in America? Is this worker unable to recognize a warning in the icons/pics too? Jeez.

Originally posted by MrSpad

Originally posted by suz62
You want to live and work in the United States then learn the language. We speak English.

You want to speak Spanish go back to Mexico.

Or those parts of the United States that started off speaking Spanish like Florida, Texas or the entire West Coast. After all I am sure in those parts of America where Spanish was what was spoken that people learned it instead of showing up and expecting everybody to speak English because they did. It is scary how little history Americans seem to know.

yes it is scary how little people know about their history.

no matter how these areas changed hands, the country that wound up with them has built them up speaking and passing laws in english.

I think you guys are missing the point.

This is going to be less about the "sign" than about saying the employee wasnt warned about the danger. If the employee spoke English the Employer could point to the sign and say "There, you were warned"- The sign comes into play because it is now a non warning.

-It will be up to Employer to prove the employee knew about the danger which will probably be difficult if this goes to court.

Having read the article and the postings the following can be stated:

While it is standard business practice that most signage is posted where people can read, and that it is in a language that all can understand, it should also be posted at the time of hiring, as part of the job description, that the employee be able to read and comprehend the language that is being spoken. That means that if the prevelant language that is spoken is Spanish, that is what the signs be printed in.

Having worked in different states and for different companies, it is printed in the job description that the common language is English, that the instructions, warning information, and other signage is in one language. What these custodians, if they get what they want and win in court, puts the place that they are hired at now in danger of further lawsuits, and or having them terminated for something totally different.

If they do win, and retain their jobs, hopefully they are able to learn English real fast, and are able to speak it where it can be comprehended, as then the university can be sued for creating a hostile work environment by any person who is employed and does not speak Spanish and finds it offensive that they are speaking such without providing a translator.

Originally posted by hounddoghowlie
reply to post by DistantRumor

 

the worker here in this case knew it was a english speaking campus. if you want to assimilate into a new country it is your responsibility, to learn the language, of the country in order to function as a productive member of that society.

not the country to cottle you and hold your hand as you make your way through life.

i' use to run a repair shop had many hispanics come in and try and pull the no habla b.s on me. but just as soon as i started talking money, they could speak english just fine.

If it was an English only campus, then they shouldn't have hired them.

I don't think you are comprehending who has the responsibility to ensure workers safety. No one is coddling them, they organization voluntarily hired them, at that point it becomes their responsibility to ensure their safety. If they don't speak English, then the organization is required to ensure that they understand the safety issues.

English is not our official language, no one has to learn it.

Originally posted by DistantRumor

Originally posted by hounddoghowlie
reply to post by DistantRumor

 

the worker here in this case knew it was a english speaking campus. if you want to assimilate into a new country it is your responsibility, to learn the language, of the country in order to function as a productive member of that society.

not the country to cottle you and hold your hand as you make your way through life.

i' use to run a repair shop had many hispanics come in and try and pull the no habla b.s on me. but just as soon as i started talking money, they could speak english just fine.

If it was an English only campus, then they shouldn't have hired them.

I don't think you are comprehending who has the responsibility to ensure workers safety. No one is coddling them, they organization voluntarily hired them, at that point it becomes their responsibility to ensure their safety. If they don't speak English, then the organization is required to ensure that they understand the safety issues.

English is not our official language, no one has to learn it.

You are correct.

Doesnt mean its right- But that is the way it currently.

reply to post by guohua


The general wording covers all bases so you will not find languages specified.

I guess it would also give the employer a chance to inform the workers what the signs mean without having to print different languages on them because, the only requirement is that they "understand" them.

Originally posted by MrSpad

Originally posted by suz62
You want to live and work in the United States then learn the language. We speak English.

You want to speak Spanish go back to Mexico.

Or those parts of the United States that started off speaking Spanish like Florida, Texas or the entire West Coast. After all I am sure in those parts of America where Spanish was what was spoken that people learned it instead of showing up and expecting everybody to speak English because they did. It is scary how little history Americans seem to know.

Why not keep going, what about the Native Americans that were living there before the Spanish, shouldn't Spain have been forced to learn those languages...

You KNOW your post is totally irrelevent, once California became part of the USA, it became an English speaking state by legal definition. There is no need to use logic to dance around what is actually being discussed here, just because a slight irrelevent case could possibly be made.

It's scary how intellecually vain some posters are to bring up futile points in the arrogance of knowledge.

What happens when you have a language barrier with a native english speaker? I once worked my way up the ladder from the toilet cleaner to the supervisor of a custodial crew at the largest building in Colorado Springs. Employed with the company was a black guy in his thirties who I could never understand. Most of the time he would talk real low and mumble and I could not understand him. I had to get another black guy who was friends with him to translate for me when we had to talk.

I think we need a national law making english the national language and requiring business and commerce to be done in english.

reply to post by DistantRumor


i don't think you understand what i.m saying.
how did the these workers fill out the job application, if it was a english speaking campus, wouldn't make sense that the application be in english. if so ( the application was in english),they had to understand english to fill it out. if it had any spainish on it i'm sure the lawyer would have said so, and question why they didn't have signs in spainish.

no these people are using the no habla ingles, or yo no leo ingles, to make some cash.

if you can show me where the state or osha laws, or even fed laws that state the signs need to be in both languages, i would consider what your saying.




ETA: if they had help filling out said application, and didn't inform the employers that they had help. who's fault would that be, you maybe able to speak english and not know how to read it. you know for the longest time and still are, people born in the US. who could not read, but spoke just fine. they may have told the boss they understood it

Originally posted by suz62
You want to live and work in the United States then learn the language. We speak English.

You want to speak Spanish go back to Mexico.

For a country that was founded by immigrants I find this statement very baffling, if your ancestors were told to go home and they did you would not be able to make this statement about the country you love. What you basically stand for is "it is okay for my family to do it but no-one else".

Originally posted by hounddoghowlie
reply to post by DistantRumor

 

i don't think you understand what i.m saying.
how did the these workers fill out the job application, if it was a english speaking campus, wouldn't make sense that the application be in english. if so ( the application was in english),they had to understand english to fill it out. if it had any spainish on it i'm sure the lawyer would have said so, and question why they didn't have signs in spainish.

no these people are using the no habla ingles, or yo no leo ingles, to make some cash.

if you can show me where the state or osha laws, or even fed laws that state the signs need to be in both languages, i would consider what your saying.

ETA: if they had help filling out said application, and didn't inform the employers that they had help. who's fault would that be, you maybe able to speak english and not know how to read it. you for the longest time there were people born in the US. who could read, but spoke just fine. they may have told the boss they understood it

edit on 10-5-2013 by hounddoghowlie because: (no reason given)

edit on 10-5-2013 by hounddoghowlie because: (no reason given)

how did the these workers fill out the job application, if it was a english speaking campus, wouldn't make sense that the application be in english.

Your question is in a way good, except, many times the application is not filled out at the HR office, put on-line or taken home. Then the school aged child or friend helps them fill out the application and they are schooled on how to answer or present themselves for the finale job interview if there is one,, many times they are hired by a second or third generation Hispanic Supervisor who interviews them in Spanish.
These was happening at the Community College here and still does to the best of my knowledge.

Has anyone ever shopped at Pro's, Ranch Markets, El Super or Food City?
I ask you, how many Caucasians, African-Americans, Korean's, Vietnamese, Chinese, German-Americans or Swedish-Americans have you seen working there in those stores?
I go two or three times a week, good prices on vegetables and fruits. I often ask a cashier or a shelve stoker for help locating something I want.

You'll notice most of the employees do not speak English and have to request assistance in understanding you.
I ask many of you here, Do you think their employment applications are in English only, do you believe they are not giving help filling said employment application out?
You think they'd even consider hiring me, sense my primary language is Mandarin Chinese?
They did not hire my brother even though in China he was the branch manager of four very large supermarkets that are very successful. Yummmmm, I wonder why,,,, you think it had anything to do with the fact he spoke Chinese and English and not Spanish?
Would they have hired my brother and then reprinted all their warning signs in Mandarin Chinese,, I don't think so, there is no law I know of making that mandatory.