County Services

The County provides services to individuals with limited English proficiency and hearing loss.

The County ensures service access through free language services provided by bilingual staff, staff proficient in American Sign Language, volunteers, students, interns and contracted vendors.

Assignments

Bilingual and sign language job duties must be assigned to a County employee by a County supervisor.

Oral and written language assessments are provided for the following languages:


Spanish, Somali, Oromo, Amharic, Laotian, Russian, Hmong (oral assessment only), Serbo-Croatian, Chinese (several dialects), and Vietnamese. Other languages as requested (and approved for bilingual pay).

Language assessments are provided only to current Hennepin County employees who will be assigned bilingual job duties, and finalists who have been offered a county position in which bilingual duties will be assigned. Language assessments must be requested by the supervisor.

Language assessments are offered on an as needed basis and are conducted at the Government Center in the Human Resources Department.

The assessments for American Sign Language are given quarterly and require travel to a location approximately 50 miles from the Twin Cities. The assessment is administered by a board of 3 panel members to test the individual’s American Sign Language skills.

Compensation / Differential

Employees on County payroll who provide assigned bilingual/sign language services, are compensated for this work based on the frequency with which they use bilingual/sign language skills.

A bilingual differential of $45 per pay period is paid to employees who are assigned to use bilingual skills on a regular basis (at least five days every payroll period). The differential is pro-rated for part-time employees. An employee must pass the language assessment before they are eligible for the bilingual differential.

An occasional differential of $9 per day is paid to employees who are assigned to use bilingual skills on an occasional or irregular basis, for each day that the bilingual skill is used.

 
Intermittent employees are eligible for the occasional differential only.

Employees who use bilingual skills in multiple languages are not eligible for more than one bilingual differential per pay period, or more than one occasional differential per day.

Job Class Interpreter

The job classification of Interpreter requires certification of language proficiency prior to hire or before the end of the probationary period. An offer of employment to an applicant who lacks the certification must be conditioned on obtaining the certification during the probationary period.

Employees in the job classes Interpreter and Senior Interpreter are not eligible for the bilingual or occasional differential. Compensation for performance of interpreting duties is reflected in the salary ranges for these job classes.


Equal Opportunity Employer