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Committee backs countywide bilingual pay differential; resolution to go to full board
Summary
The committee voted to send a resolution to the full county board that would extend a bilingual pay differential (currently 75¢/hour in HHS) across county departments where bilingual skills are relevant to the job; officials said certified testing would be used to verify language ability.
The Executive and Finance Standing Committee voted May 13 to forward a resolution to the full county board proposing a countywide bilingual pay differential where language skills are relevant to job duties.
Currently the HHS addendum includes a 75¢ per hour differential for bilingual employees whose language skills are job-relevant. Committee members discussed expanding that differential to other departments that routinely use bilingual skills, including veteran services, dispatch, ambulance and the sheriff's office.
County staff said the county would use online or certified tests to verify language ability and require the skill to be relevant to the position; for example, highway staff who do not typically encounter non-English-speaking members of the public would not qualify. A staff member cited demographic data saying about 3.3% of the county population is Hispanic and speaks Spanish, which the administrator characterized as a currently relevant language for county services.
Why it matters: committee leaders said expanding bilingual pay would reduce reliance on outside translation services and language lines, offer compensation for staff who provide frequent on-the-job translation and potentially produce net cost savings for departments.
Outcome: the committee voted to forward the resolution to the full county board for consideration.
