Cuomo orders services in 6 languages

ALBANY, NY (AP) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo is ordering that state services be offered and explained in six major non-English languages.

The executive order being announced Wednesday is aimed at 2.5 million New Yorkers considered to have limited proficiency in English.

State agencies across New York are now equipped to provide free interpretation in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Korean and Haitian Creole.

The U.S. Census reports that immigrants constitute 27 percent of the work force and a language other than English is spoken in 30 percent of New York homes, most of them in New York City.

Immigrants account for more than a third of New York City's population and almost half the workforce.
The executive order requires that additional languages be considered every two years.