My husband is part of the upper-management of a mid-sized, family owned business that employees approximately 100 workers in its warehouse/packing/distribution facility. Among other things, he handles human resources and insurance matters for the company. Almost all of the the employees are uneducated immigrants whose first language is Spanish. Many of the employees are clueless about how health insurance works.
The company recently started offering the employees Flexible Spending Accounts ("FSA") -- the tax deferred medical savings account that allows them to put aside pre-tax dollars to pay for medical and childcare services. For weeks, my husband tried to explain how the plan works to the employees, but no one seemed to understand. Eventually, he received some literature written in Spanish. My husband, with no self consciousness whatsoever, read the literature, in Spanish, to the employees. (My husband does not speak or read Spanish.)
The employees appreciated his efforts to read in Spanish. "Oh, you read better than my son who is in high school!," one employee exclaimed.
My husband was satisfied the employees began to understand the concept of FSA when one woman asked if the plan would cover boob jobs.
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3 comments:
Thats interesting... how your husband went out of his way to make them understand.
I am from Quebec where the law states that if you do not speak french it is illigal for you to be employeed. The companies that do this are fined thousands of dollars so trust me if someone takes the risk its for a family friend and little else.
I don't know where I stand on this point. If I were to go to Spain and not speak a word of Catalan or Spanish yet expect employment I would be critized and probably labeled as a Western Elitest - which is totally unfair. But then again that doesnt mean that I have to behave like my neighbors... right???
Hey, groovy site?
so, does it cover boob jobs?
Isn't it elistist to NOT hire someone because they dont speak your language? Especially when they are willing to work for shitty pay and conditions, which most unskilled migrants in the US, Europe and Australia end up doing.
Also, you don't need to speak Spanish to get work in Spain - if you're an English teacher!
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