Pirate's Cove

On first glance, I was actually a bit disturbed by what the Bill was attempting to do. Fire people because they do not speak English? Why were they hired in the first place? Reading on, though

A Republican state senator from Fairfax County has introduced a proposal that would allow a boss to fire employees who don’t speak English in the workplace, which would make them ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II said the law is needed because a growing number of employers in Northern Virginia are frustrated that some immigrants never learn English, although they said they would when they were hired.

“The point here isn’t to be mean; the point is to allow circumstances to give employers their own ability to hire and fire people who may not speak English,” Cuccinelli said.

It’s a good point. Someone is hired who promises to learn to speak English. They renege on that promise. The person has been given a chance for a job by the business, and now, because of other laws, cannot be terminated legally. And they cannot be productive and work with coworkers and customers, to a large extent. This is an English speaking country. We try and adapt and help these immigrants out, but, they have to do their part, too.

Quick personal story. Back when I was a sales rep in one store, we had quite a few customers who had literally come to America within the previous 5 years or less from Western African nations. It was sometimes hard to understand their English, and they stumbled a bit, but, they made the attempt to learn English. Guess what? We could actually help them.

Some Democrats and immigration rights activists said they were outraged at Cuccinelli, saying the bill demeans the 1 in 10 Virginians who were born outside the United States. They said Cuccinelli’s proposal was aimed at new legal residents who aren’t native English speakers. Illegal immigrants are already ineligible for unemployment benefits.

“This is the most mean-spirited piece of legislation I have seen in my 30 years down here,” Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said.

So, rather then addressing the substance of the Bill, the Dems demagogue it. Sure, it is a little mean, but, Spanish speaking immigrants need to get with the program and attempt to become part of America, rather then residing in their own isolated communities and expecting the majority of Americans, and other immigrants that have taken the time to learn English, to accomodate them.

If they are hired with a promise to learn English, and they break that promise, companies should be able to terminate them for that cause.

The biggest point of the bill is to make those who are terminated for failing to uphold their promise to learn English ineligible for unemployment benefits, basically, considering them terminated for cause.