Its not always Greek to employers under Title VII

Q Our employment applications are available in English. If an applicant applies in a language other than English and our recruiters cannot read the responses, what do we do with the application? Are we able to disqualify the candidate?

A The short answer is, it depends. National origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes discrimination based on language, and Title VII's protections extend to an employer's hiring and recruitment decisions. If the applicant cannot speak or write English fluently (and, hence, submits an application in her native language), then disqualification may be appropriate, but only under limited circumstances. Specifically, requiring English fluency or proficiency is permissible only if it's required for the effective performance of the position for which it is imposed.

Whether English fluency or some degree of proficiency is required is clearly a fact-intensive inquiry (for example, a customer service position that requires frequent communications with primarily English-speaking customers would justifiably require English proficiency, while a data entry position may not). Therefore, rejecting an application simply because it's in a language other than English, without more, may violate Title VII. Likewise, considering certain foreign language applications (such as an application in French) while rejecting others (such as an application in Russian) for no reason would be facially discriminatory.