Bill Targets Workers Who Lack English (the epitome of repub mean-spiritedness)

[Virginia Dare]

This asshat just won reelection by the slimmest of margins. It took a recount to certify it. He counters it by putting this shit out there. He's the darling of the right wing fundy racists in this state, and it's easy to see why.


RICHMOND, Jan. 16 -- 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.

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.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011603720.html

[blondeatlast]

1. Cue 'em: "This issue isn't about bigotry..." Sorry, gang, it absolutely is

and no one has been able to convince me otherwise.

[mmonk]

2. You are correct.

It's why I don't even bother with the "democrats have to do something about illegal immigration" threads. I've just had enough of garbage.

[Lance_Boyle]

3. It's a stupid employer who hires on the basis of 'will learn.'

Presumably it is already permissible for employers to require English fluency (and use in the workplace) as a condition of hiring, just as employers can require that applicants be bilingual. I'm not sure I see the need to go beyond that. If you require English in the workplace, and you hire someone who doesn't speak English, you violated your hiring standards. Suck it up.