LanguageLine Solutions is an American company headquartered in

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with a strong UK presence provided by their London, UK offices. It provides on-demand and onsite

language interpretation Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

and document

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

services worldwide for law enforcement, healthcare organizations, legal courts, schools, and businesses in over 290 languages. LanguageLine claims to have more than 30,000 clients. LanguageLine is the largest interpretation services provider in the world. The company's global workforce is claimed to include over 25,000 interpreters who handle more than 87 million calls each year. In addition to phone interpreting, the company also offers video remote and onsite interpreting, translation and localization services, and language proficiency testing and training.

Competitors

They compete with other language specialists like Straker translations, One Planet, and Spot On Interpreting.

Company history

In its earlier years, the company was known as CALL (Communication And Language Line) and was formed by Jeff Munks and Michael McFerrin. Jeff Munks was a

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, policeman Michael McFerrin mastered the

Vietnamese language Vietnamese () is an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic language Speech, spoken primarily in Vietnam where it is the official language. It belongs to the Vietic languages, Vietic subgroup of the Austroasiatic language family. Vietnamese is s ...

as a

US Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

stationed in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. He returned to Northern California and worked as a refugee advocate. The two men founded Language Line Services in 1982 to help police officers communicate with 65,000

Vietnamese refugees Vietnamese boat people () were refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its highest in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but continued well into the earl ...

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

acquired the service on February 14, 1990, as a

strategic business unit A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though ...

. AT&T Language Line Services received significant investments in technology and interpreter quality, creating standards for the emerging telephone interpreting industry. For a decade, the company served as a vital resource for business, government and health care clients who faced changing demographics and state and federal laws and regulations in the 1990s. In 1999, the company became an independent entity, today known as LanguageLine Solutions. In addition to phone interpreting, the company also began offering video remote and onsite interpreting, translation and localization services, and language proficiency testing and training. In 2006, the company acquired Language Line in the UK, which had been founded in 1995 by Michael Young the celebrated social entrepreneur. At that time it was the largest telephone interpreting business in Europe. Scott W. Klein was named CEO on June 21, 2012. On September 16, 2016, LanguageLine Solutions was acquired by Teleperformance, a French company. Teleperformance has stated that LanguageLine will continue to operate as a stand-alone business, headquartered in Monterey, California.

Unpaid Wages

LanguageLine Solutions has been ordered by the US government to pay nearly $1.5 million in missed wages, back pay, and damages to over 2,400 interpreters. According to the US Department of Labor, LanguageLine Solutions was in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the McNamara–O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA).

Notes

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External links

"Speaking of success"
''Smart Business'' interview. June 26, 2009.

''Arizona Star'', 8 June 2009. Companies based in Monterey County, California Language interpretation Translation companies