Translation Services Not Required: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 Does Not Require Special Accommodations for Limited English Proficiency Individuals

Carrie L. Flores, Krieg DeVault LLP

Abstract

Is an employer or health care provider required to provide special accommodations to applicants or patients unable to speak English proficiently? If so, to what extent must they accommodate them? Must they provide free translation services? This scenario sets forth a hotly contested issue: whether Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals are entitled to receive special accommodations.

The Civil Rights Act (“CRA”) prohibits discrimination based on national origin. However, the CRA does not clearly answer whether an LEP individual is entitled to receive special accommodations because of his LEP status. Notwithstanding this, President Clinton issued an executive order requiring recipients of federal financial assistance “to ensure that the programs and activities they . . . provide in English are accessible to LEP persons and thus do not discriminate on the basis of national origin in violation of [the CRA] . . . .” In doing so, he muddied the waters with regard to the significant difference between language and national origin.

This Article proposes the appropriate analysis for finding that the CRA does not require special accommodations for LEP individuals. The CRA’s scope is limited to its express provisions, which do not prohibit language discrimination. The Court should refrain from reading additional protections into the CRA and determine that a person’s choice of language does not equate to national origin. Accordingly, pursuant to the CRA, the appropriate outcome in the scenario above is that the employer or health care provider is not forced to provide special accommodations to an LEP person.