Texas officials like to brag that we’re not California. They constantly crow — with good reason — about the steady flow of residents and businesses that leave the Golden State and come here, to live and do business in a state that has less regulation and no state income tax.
Let’s hope our officials continue to set this state apart with regard to policies that might be more in line with their current anti-immigration attitudes.
Five Asian Californian residents have filed a lawsuit against the California Massage Therapy Council, which denied certification for a state license because their English language skills were deemed poor.
It sounds like the kind of thing we might see from Texas’ deep red state government, and we hope the California case doesn’t give our officials any ideas. State officials and candidates in the past have proposed or supported English-only legislation efforts, both at the state and federal level.
Such mandates aren’t necessary, they’re discriminatory and they’re probably unconstitutional, although there’s no telling how the current Supreme Court majority, which seems more beholden to conservative principles than to the Constitution, might rule on the matter if they were asked to.
The pressure of the free market should impose enough pressure on business managers to ensure that they or their employees can communicate effectively with their customers — they’d go out of business if they didn’t.
However, many businesses have designated people who deal with the public, such as foremen at construction sites and wait staff at restaurants. Other workers such as builders and kitchen staff are insulated from the public and the language they use to communicate with each other is irrelevant.
In addition, significant populations in many areas speak, and can communicate with workers, in other languages — the Rio Grande Valley is a prime example.
As in parts of California, which has a large Asian population, many South Texas residents are comfortable speaking Spanish; in fact, it’s the primary language for many, including native-born Valley residents. Thus, they have no problem speaking Spanish with their business contact, and many might actually prefer it.
It has been argued that language restrictions in the workplace, and by extension for professional certification, violates Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of national origin. Moreover, one of the most celebrated rights cited in the U.S. Constitution is the freedom of speech, which presumably includes the freedom to use whatever language one chooses to speak.
English skills that are deemed substandard — and actually might simply be a heavy accent — needn’t be regulated. Employers are best able to make those decisions, hiring or rejecting applicants according to the language needs of each business.
Let us hope that the pro-business attitude among Texas officials is stronger than their anti-immigrant positions, and they avoid the temptation to issue mandates that interfere with our freedom to speak — and do business — as we wish.
AIM Media Texas
