By Godson Umejiego, Correspondent USA
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced Thursday that key online resource documents have been translated into seven additional languages and are now available to help improve access for people with limited English proficiency.
In addition to the existing Spanish translations, the EEOC provides key documents, fact sheets, and publications in Arabic, simplified Chinese, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese on eeoc.gov.
“The United States is growing ever richer in its diversity,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “The EEOC is committed to ensuring that all workers and job seekers understand their right to be free from illegal harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Providing EEOC resources in additional languages reflective of our national diversity is critical to that commitment.”
In its governing statute, the EEOC has a mandate to conduct educational and outreach activities targeted to individuals who historically have been victims of employment discrimination, including those employees who read and speak in languages other than English.
The seven new languages were selected based on needs identified by EEOC’s field offices, as well as data from the US Census Bureau on populations with limited English proficiency. In the future, the agency will continue to identify additional languages which should be made available in order to better serve the public.
The EEOC has long recognized the importance of educating workers who speak languages other than English about their rights and how to reach the EEOC for assistance – and that these protections apply regardless of a person’s immigration or citizenship status.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
