[IPAC-List] foreign language as a minimum requirement for employment

[Pluta, Paul]

Desire is a wonderful thing.  How did your school district determine
that fluency in a foreign language should be a 'minimum requirement' for
employment selection purposes?  In essence, what job analysis
information was relied upon to make such a determination?  Where was the
line drawn between 'nice to have' and 'minimum requirement' and what
were the determining factors?  What foreign language did your school
district choose as a minimum requirement and why?  Does the language
requirement result in adverse impact based on national origin?  If so,
how did your district validate the foreign language minimum requirement?

Paul E. Pluta, MA, SPHR
Human Resources Analyst III
Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources
Workforce Planning, Test Research, & Appeals Division


-----Original Message-----
From: Barney, Betsy [mailto:betsy.barney at lausd.net] 
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2009 5:12 PM
To: Pluta, Paul
Subject: RE: [IPAC-List] foreign language as a minimum requirement for
employment

It isn't customer preference with us.  It is our desire to be sure our
customers, many of whom have only partial understanding and use of
English
get information they understand about their children's education and
opportunities.  We are a school district.

-----Original Message-----
From: ipac-list-bounces at ipacweb.org
[mailto:ipac-list-bounces at ipacweb.org] On Behalf Of Pluta, Paul
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2009 12:17 PM
To: IPAC-List at ipacweb.org
Subject: [IPAC-List] foreign language as a minimum requirement for
employment

I have been seeing bilingual as a requirement for employment
increasingly over the past few years.  What if such a requirement
results in adverse impact for different groups based on national origin?
What are the criteria for defensibility in terms of the job-relatedness
of the requirement?  Is this requirement most often based on a "business
necessity" or "customer preference"?  Does anyone know if this
requirement has ever been challenged in court?  It seems to me that any
organization that does business exclusively within the borders of the
United States (excluding some territories, such as Puerto Rico) would
only be imposing the requirement based on customer preference.  However,
multinational corporations that conduct business on a regional or global
scale may be able to make a better argument for business necessity.
Where is the line that divides customer preference from business
necessity in this situation?  Are there any thoughts, experiences, or
opinions anyone would like to share?

 

Paul E. Pluta, MA, SPHR

Human Resources Analyst III

Los Angeles County Department of Human Resources

Workforce Planning, Test Research, & Appeals Division

 

 

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