At long last, dear readers, the mighty (in its clumsiness) and speedy (in the sense of a snail’s pace) reach of SB-863 has come to knock on the door of the interpreters. All those injured workers who spent their entire careers speaking English to employers, co-workers, and customers, sustained injury in the form of not being able to speak said language for purposes of litigating their claims.
We’ve all seen this – an interpreter is necessary if settlement falls through, and no longer necessary once it’s time to sign the documents. (Maybe next time the Defendant will know to give in to the applicant’s unreasonable demands!)
The Department of Industrial Relations has released proposed interpreter regulations for public comment (they’re in English, by the way, so you may need an interpreter to read them. But how much does that cost? If only there were regulations out there that set out how much an interpreter could charge for his or her services…)
Among other changes:
- Who can be qualified to provide interpreter services at hearings and depositions (section 9795.1.5); and
- Who can be qualified to provide interpreter services at medical appointments (section 9795.1.6).
If passed “as-is,” defendants will be able to get rid of a few interpreter liens based on qualifications. But your humble blogger would like to see some more teeth given to common sense with respect to interpreter liens:
Section 9795.3, subsection (a) holds that “[f]ees for services performed by a certified or provisionally certified interpreter, upon request of an employee who does not proficiently speak or understand the English language, shall be paid for the following events:”
How about some more burden on the applicant to prove that he needs an interpreter? Your humble blogger happens to know some people very near and dear to his heart that would take great offense at someone assuming they need an interpreter simply because they were born elsewhere.
Your humble blogger would suggest that the regulations include some sort of formal procedure by which an applicant must first prove that the services were necessary.
But, none the less, cheers to the DIR for moving forward with implementing the new legislation, even if it is six months later.