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Translation Services under Language Access Act

Language Access Act Translation Requirements

A new report by the Equal Rights Center, which was referenced in American Observer, alleges that D.C. residents, who speak limited English, are not getting enough Amharic translations and Amharic interpreting, Chinese translations and Chinese interpreting, Korean translations and Korean interpreting, Spanish translations and Spanish interpreting, and Vietnamese translations and Vietnamese interpreting.

That means that five D.C. government agencies—the Department of Human Services, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Employment Services, the Alcoholic Beverages Regulation Administration, and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs—are in non-compliance with the 2004 D.C. Language Access Act “by not providing non-English speaking residents with certain translation services”.

The Language Access Act, which was passed in 2004, requires that 25 local agencies provide language interpreters, as well as document translations, for any non-English language spoken by 3 percent of the population.

In Washington, D.C., these languages include Amharic, Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Irrespective of where they live, your culturally diverse clients would appreciate translations of key legal terms into Cantonese, Mandarin, Russian, Farsi, Punjabi, Spanish, and Vietnamese. They can be found here.

They would also enjoy “A Guide for New Immigrants”, available in Russian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, Tagalog, Portuguese, French, Haitian-Creole, and Spanish translations here.

Contact our professional translation service to retain professional court interpreters for government debriefings, depositions, hearings, IMEs, settlement conferences, mediation, arbitrations, and trials.

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