As the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S., Hispanics constitute a significant and growing percentage of the workforce. Many of these workers are involved in the construction and landscaping industries, though they are present in just about every industry and region of the U.S. As such, it’s important that employers understand the complexity of cultural differences which they present in order to effectively manage their team of workers.

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To begin with, Hispanics immigrating to the U.S., even on a seasonal basis, are not a homogenous group. Coming from more than 20 different countries, they present distinct cultural habits and expectations. Some of them are educated and some are not; some speak English while others do not. A worker who comes from a rural area with little formal education and no knowledge of English, for example, may show exceptional creativity and problem-solving abilities. So the Hispanic labour force represents a heterogeneous group that a manager would do best to try to understand in order to effectively navigate.

However, it is natural that language plays a significant role in managing Hispanic workers, due to the primacy of communication. The idea that immigrants coming to the U.S. should learn English is not only limiting for business purposes, it is also limited in perspective in many cases. For example, it is sometimes the case that a Hispanic worker does not know how to read or write in their own language, making it a significant hurdle for them to learn a new language. But even those with formal education, many report that English is simply a very difficult language to learn. Managers who recognize these limitations are better prepared to accommodate them — providing safety manuals in Spanish, for example, or video tutorials with images, or illustrations to clarify company standards.

Accommodating language difficulties, as such, can go a long way in preventing injuries and even fatalities on the job, in addition to familiarizing Hispanic workers with safety precautions that may be nonexistent in their countries of origin.

While US labor laws require that employers provide translations of certain kinds of information regarding company policies to Spanish-speaking employees, the laws which are currently on the books do not necessarily cover all of the information that these employees require. As a result, it is not unheard-of for employees with limited English abilities to be unaware of their rights as workers, or unable to exercise them to their fullest capacity.

The most intuitive area that affects these workers are policies regarding anti-discrimination. Unfortunately, discrimination in the workplace is still something which occurs and which is a topic of concern among labor advocates. And while companies usually provide some form of translation of their policies, as required by law, the information is sometimes incomplete. Further, the form which those translations take can also complicate matters.

A relevant case which reached the federal court in Colorado dealt with a sexual harassment complaint which a Spanish-speaking employee brought against some co-workers. Although the company had provided a Spanish-language video explaining some of the information in the companies pertinent policy, the actual policy itself—with complete information—was never provided to the employee in Spanish. In addition, the interpreter that was available at the work premises to foster communication between Spanish-speaking and English-speaking employees—including between the employee who filed the lawsuit and those she was accusing—was implicated in the complaint. As a result, the employee felt that she could not resolve the issue directly with the parties involved.

In situations such as this, it behooves an employer to provide written translations of company policies in their entirety to workers who speak Spanish. It may be the case that if these translations were provided, beyond what the law requires, a costly escalation of the case could be avoided—a benefit to everyone involved, including the company itself. Even if a similar situation never arises, the company can rest assured that they have taken sufficient measures to anticipate any possible issues, and know that they have covered their bases. Written translations also offer the additional benefit of being evidence that Spanish-speaking employees have indeed been informed of company policies and their individual rights.