my cheapo organization...

society's_child

society's_child

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...has asked if i'd be willing to interpret for any deaf that come in for job interviews or are included in staff meetings. :roll: now i'm not going to say who i work for but it IS a government agency. the reason why they've asked me to interpret is because i'm not certified and i'm already an employee here (read: I'M FREE- THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY ME A DIME!!) you can't tell me that it's not in the budget to pay for a certified, professionally trained interpreter to come in and do the jobs. isn't there an ADA law that applies here, somewhere? anyway, i've only been signing almost 5 1/2 years and i'll tell you right now, i'm NO interpreter. i'd just be doing the deaf person a disservice.

hmph, i'm thinking i'll say no. unless they show me the money. if not, they better pool what funds they've got and hire a professional. i've got work, my REGULAR assigned duties to perform here and they expect me to drop it to interpret a staff meeting/interview?

yeah, they thought wrong.

end rant.
 
Good for you!! Btw, Ehuggzzzz to you. Been a while.
 
Sure hope they don't pressure you into it....I do remember years ago, when I went to Court, and my friend from the Independent Living (she was an advocate) went with me, as she wanted to hear about the case. She was hearing and could sign, but was not Certified.....as we sat in Court, waiting on the Intrepretor....she never showed...and my turn came up to stand before the Judge....My friend told the Judge (verbally) that I was Deaf and the Intrepretor has not shown up, and we were sorry....The Judge asked her if she could sign to me, and she said yes she could, but she was not Certified and perhaps it best to reschedule if possible....

The Judge would have none of that!...He told her to sign to me, regardless! And she was very uncomfortable about it....Was that against the Law?...Perhaps so, but whenever a Judge tells you to do something.....well...you do it.
 
They cannot fire you for refusing to interpret. Maybe negotiate something such as extra sick day or extra hour of free time if you're asked to interpret.
 
yikes. :shock: talk about pressure. legal interpreting is a whole other monster altogether. how well she interpreted has a bearing on how the case will play out. too much responsibility for someone who isn't trained for that. the only thing that could possibly be worse than legal interpreting is medical interpreting.
 
dereksbicycles said:
They cannot fire you for refusing to interpret. Maybe negotiate something such as extra sick day or extra hour of free time if you're asked to interpret.
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Oh yeah, i'm totally not concerned about loosing my job. I know I have the freedom to say no. Give me some Starbucks gift cards and I'll consider doing it. :P
 
society's_child said:
yikes. :shock: talk about pressure. legal interpreting is a whole other monster altogether. how well she interpreted has a bearing on how the case will play out. too much responsibility for someone who isn't trained for that. the only thing that could possibly be worse than legal interpreting is medical interpreting.
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True that!...(medical intrepreting)....One Intrepretor told me that my doctor said I had a "tumor" in my ear...she could not spell/or misunderstood what the Doctor said (?)...It was upsetting, and a few days later, I called the doctor to ask him, and he said "No", you don't have a tumor, and explained exactly what was wrong with my ear......

I've been advised to ask for a Intrepretor who has some medical technology to best intrepret for me at doctor's appointments. But, it seems to be hard to schedule that.
 
rockin'robin said:
True that!...(medical intrepreting)....One Intrepretor told me that my doctor said I had a "tumor" in my ear...she could not spell/or misunderstood what the Doctor said (?)...It was upsetting, and a few days later, I called the doctor to ask him, and he said "No", you don't have a tumor, and explained exactly what was wrong with my ear......

I've been advised to ask for a Intrepretor who has some medical technology to best intrepret for me at doctor's appointments. But, it seems to be hard to schedule that.
Click to expand...

that is frightening. sorry you had to experience it. why is it difficult for interpreting to be schedueled?
 
society's_child said:
...has asked if i'd be willing to interpret for any deaf that come in for job interviews or are included in staff meetings. :roll: now i'm not going to say who i work for but it IS a government agency. the reason why they've asked me to interpret is because i'm not certified and i'm already an employee here (read: I'M FREE- THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY ME A DIME!!) you can't tell me that it's not in the budget to pay for a certified, professionally trained interpreter to come in and do the jobs. isn't there an ADA law that applies here, somewhere? anyway, i've only been signing almost 5 1/2 years and i'll tell you right now, i'm NO interpreter. i'd just be doing the deaf person a disservice.

hmph, i'm thinking i'll say no. unless they show me the money. if not, they better pool what funds they've got and hire a professional. i've got work, my REGULAR assigned duties to perform here and they expect me to drop it to interpret a staff meeting/interview?



You do not say which government agency you work with but if it is the U.S.P.S. I have sued them through EEOC several time before I retired. Really does not matter which agency you work for, NEVER---NEVER volunteer to interpret because you can become imboiled in the situation. Regardless, the agency knows about ADA and the requirement to have a certified interpreter.
Explain to the other deaf(s) whom also work with the agency to request IN WRITTING they a interpreter is required for meetings and interviews.
Do not worry, you can not be retaliated against for your refusal to interpret, you have ADA, EEOC, and DOJ on your side. Maybe the union also.
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society's_child said:
really? i'm guessing additional schooling/education is required for that?
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Not sure about that. Maybe just a separate test on medical terminology that may or may not necessarily require further formal schooling. Hopefully, Reba will be along soon.
 
My question: given that it is difficult to find a terp with the appropriate medical terminology, how likely is it that the average deaf patient would fully understand the terp? I'm wondering if tablet computers with voice recognition might not be a good supplement. Then the patient can read what is being said, the doctor can see if the tablet is showing exactly what was said, and any questions can be based on both sides having the same visual access to what is being communicated.
 
rockin'robin said:
Sure hope they don't pressure you into it....I do remember years ago, when I went to Court, and my friend from the Independent Living (she was an advocate) went with me, as she wanted to hear about the case. She was hearing and could sign, but was not Certified.....as we sat in Court, waiting on the Intrepretor....she never showed...and my turn came up to stand before the Judge....My friend told the Judge (verbally) that I was Deaf and the Intrepretor has not shown up, and we were sorry....The Judge asked her if she could sign to me, and she said yes she could, but she was not Certified and perhaps it best to reschedule if possible....

The Judge would have none of that!...He told her to sign to me, regardless! And she was very uncomfortable about it....Was that against the Law?...Perhaps so, but whenever a Judge tells you to do something.....well...you do it.
Click to expand...
I've been to a traffic court hearing, as moral support, with a deaf friend whose terp never showed up. I explained the situation to the judge, and that I wasn't certified for legal interpreting. The judge said, no problem. He offered the deaf person a choice of either using me to interpret, IF the friend was agreeable, or to continue the case to another date. The judge said there was no pressure, that he was fine with whichever way the deaf person preferred. The judge was very nice about it.

Here's the problem in your case:

"The Judge asked her if she could sign to me, and she said yes she could...."

The judge didn't hear the not certified part to be a disqualification. It didn't sink in. Since your friend said "yes" that's all the judge focused on. By saying "yes" your friend opened up the door.

When the judge asked if your friend could interpret for you, she should have replied, "No, I'm sorry Your Honor, I cannot. I'm not a certified interpreter, and I'm not qualified for interpreting in a court."

If the judge further insisted, your friend should state that she wants it put into the court record that she's attempting to interpret only under the judge's order and not of her free will.

If you had an attorney present, the friend wouldn't normally even speak to the judge directly, except in traffic or small claims courts. The attorney would have told the judge that the terp didn't show up.

It certainly makes your case open to appeal, if you needed it.
 
rockin'robin said:
I've been advised to ask for a Intrepretor who has some medical technology to best intrepret for me at doctor's appointments. But, it seems to be hard to schedule that.
Click to expand...

This is one of the reasons I have done a lot of 'interpreting' for deaf friends. Many appointments are last minute and booking an interpreter is next to impossible (also the cost for multiple appointments is often beyond their reach). I have played the role of interpreter in dental offices, counselling offices, clinics, the hospital ER and even during surgery (I have teased my one friend that I am the one person that actually knows her "inside and out" haha). My signing is not anywhere near the level of an interpreter but sometimes circumstances force us to make the best of what is available. They trust me to convey all information accurately and I use whatever I can (vocab, fingerspelling and writing) to ensure that happens. The goal is always to do whatever possible to make the situation comfortable and supportive and to convey to everyone (read: those who is not familiar with interacting with the deaf) how important it is to have trusted interpreters in these situations.

I think it is important to encourage (or even force) certain companies or organizations to provide a certified interpreter when required. It benefits the client/patient, interpreters and interpreting programs, and deaf education as a whole. However, sometimes it is just not possible and that is when it is important that those who can step in to facilitate communication do so.
 
society's_child said:
...has asked if i'd be willing to interpret for any deaf that come in for job interviews or are included in staff meetings. :roll: now i'm not going to say who i work for but it IS a government agency. the reason why they've asked me to interpret is because i'm not certified and i'm already an employee here (read: I'M FREE- THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY ME A DIME!!) you can't tell me that it's not in the budget to pay for a certified, professionally trained interpreter to come in and do the jobs. isn't there an ADA law that applies here, somewhere? anyway, i've only been signing almost 5 1/2 years and i'll tell you right now, i'm NO interpreter. i'd just be doing the deaf person a disservice.

hmph, i'm thinking i'll say no. unless they show me the money. if not, they better pool what funds they've got and hire a professional. i've got work, my REGULAR assigned duties to perform here and they expect me to drop it to interpret a staff meeting/interview?

yeah, they thought wrong.

end rant.
Click to expand...
Government agencies have no excuse at all for not hiring interpreters. I'm surprised that your organization doesn't have that process already in place. Most of the government agencies for whom I've interpreted know exactly what to do.

Just say no. :) If they ask, say, "I'm sorry, I'm neither certified nor qualified for interpreting."

After all, does your organization ask one of your handy non-technican co-workers to fix the plumbing or electricity or even the copier machine when something goes wrong? I'll bet not.
 
Tousi said:
Not sure about that. Maybe just a separate test on medical terminology that may or may not necessarily require further formal schooling. Hopefully, Reba will be along soon.
Click to expand...
A skilled, experienced terp can do medical interpreting without a lot of extra formal schooling.

If the terp is in doubt about what the doctor is explaining, the terp can ask for clarification in layman English. After all, a hearing patient would probably need to do the same thing.

Sure, I can know what the terms are and how to spell them (that year of Latin helps :) ) but it doesn't do any good to spell it perfectly if the patient has no clue what it means. The doctor needs to explain things clearly, the terp needs to interpret clearly, and the patient needs to ask questions.

In addition to specialized vocab and the usual terp skills, one has to know how to comport oneself in a medical setting. Professionalism mixed with compassion and common sense are essential, not to mention sometimes a strong stomach and empathy without being overwhelmed. It can be a delicate balance to maintain.

Now, interpreting between medical professionals would be a different situation, and the terp would have to be better versed in the terminology.
 
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