Thread: This Is Unbelievable!!!

Below is a letter from my State Senator John Goedde in answer to my phone call to him the other day on why Idaho State Unemployment forms were still available in Spanish when Idaho has passed a law making English the Official Language. Apparently it didn't take long for him to get right on it.

Dear ****
Here is the response from the Idaho Dept. of Labor. They blame
the form in Spanish on federal statute.
John Goedde

Dec.4, 2007

Senator John W. Goedde

Dear Senator Goedde,

Thank you for your question about why our applications for unemployment
insurance are available in Spanish.

As you know, the Idaho Department of Labor receives most of its funding
through unemployment insurance taxes paid to the federal government by
Idaho businesses for every employee they hire, whether their employees
speak English or not.

According to federal law, any and all recipients of federal funds
including private contractors - must comply with federal law which
specifies a citizen of this country or a temporary foreign worker
legally authorized to be here can not be denied services based on their
inability to speak English. The federal government considers such a
denial or delay of services to be discrimination based on national
origin, which is prohibited by federal law. Penalties include loss of
any federal funding the state, federal agency, or private contractor
may receive.

In our case, the Idaho Department of Labor serves tens of thousands of
people. While the majority speak English, a significant number of our
non-English speaking clients who come to our offices speak Spanish. If
our agency violates federal law by refusing to serve these citizens and
in the process, prevents or delays delivery of services they are
legally entitled to, they are not the only ones who suffer. When the department loses federal funds, every Idahoan who loses a job or wishes to use our job seeker services will be impacted as well.

Bottom line: Since the department is funded almost entirely by federal
funds, Idaho's English as the Official Language law does not apply to
the federally-funded services provided by our agency.

If you have any additional questions, please don't hesitate to call

Respectfully yours,
Roger B. Madsen, Director

Do they have these forms in other languages besides Spanish. If not, itsn't that discriminitory?

English and Spanish are the only languages the forms are in. You are right. It's descrimination against any other ethnic group who comes here with legal status to work who cannot read English.

And here's another thing that bugs me about this. Unemployment shouldn't even be paid in on non citizens. If their work is finished, they shouldn't be allowed to hang around and draw unemployment. They should have to go home if they run out of work.

Actually, it's only Spanish-speakers who refuse to try to learn English. People who speak other languages don't need the forms in their original language.

You're right about that, corhanem. But a person could make a case that these forms should be available in all languages of the people here on temporary work status. If the government can't do this, it tells me they know the majority are Latino and they are pandering to a special group.

Yeah, Vietnnamese. Sri Lankans, Ethiopians, etc probably don't have free legal representation.

The Un-believable part is how that any language but English, is on any documents in this country, and how all the foreign languages are all over everything we buy.

Maybe if we quit allowing any print but English, and quit providing interpreters at the tax payers expense... they would either learn English like the rest of US, or go back home.

I really like the 'non-tax payer' self deportation idea. I don't know about the rest of YOU, but I'm sick to death of paying everyone else's way, to the point I can hardly pay my own way now.

I mean... we gave them the shirts off our backs when their's was still wet. We clothed them, fed them, housed them, gave them our jobs and took on their pay scale. And now WE must wait on our benefits, so the Illegals can receive theirs ?

And now they want to move in our homes the banks are foreclosing on ? Haven't WE THE PEOPLE given enough ?

To A Better Day America !

Your Loyal Son & Servant ~

___________________________

Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death

I cannot comprehend the idea that you can live in a country for any length of time and not have the ability to communicate in the common language. This puts you instantly at a huge disadvantage in every way, you owe it to yourself to learn that language.

As a footnote it is hard enough translating from England English to American English at times!!!!!!! It is amazing how many times people say they do not understand what I am saying at times. Not sure if that is truly the case or they were just listening to the British Accent and not to the content of what I am saying.

Maybe they are just enjoying your accent ----

I don't have too much of a problem with British English - I think I read too many British whodunnits.

Remember they say England and the US are separated by a common language.

But my yankee son in laws family has trouble understanding me sometimes.

You know 'I'm fixing to go to the store.'.