Chandler adds languages to bilingual pay policy for employees

PHOENIX — The city of Chandler on Thursday announced a new bilingual pay policy for employees in an effort to better its customer service provider to Chandler residents and customers.

An existing bilingual pay policy established in 2005 solely for Spanish-speakers was expanded on May 15 to include American Sign Language, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese, according to a press release. 

“The revamped policy recognizes the growth of languages commonly used in our community and the need to serve residents and businesses in other languages,” City Manager Josh Wright said in a press release.

“We value these skills in our current employees and welcome applications from job seekers who bring these talents to our diverse community.”

The newly added languages were chosen based on the city’s demographics from the 2020 U.S. Census, the release said.

Employees will be required to take a test for both English and another language and pay will be based on their proficiency in both languages.

Advanced-to-superior bilingual speakers will receive about $1,200 annually, while intermediate-to-advanced speakers will receive around $600 annually.

Those covered by a Memorandum of Understanding will be paid based on their MOU.

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