California Court Interpreters to Start 2025 with New Mandates

A new set of updates affecting the way certified and registered court interpreters work in California’s judicial system will come into effect in January 2025. 

Among the main changes is the very structure of the interpreters’ work relationship with the courts, approved as bill AB 1032 and contested by interpreters in 2023. An example of these changes is the fact that courts will be able to hire certified or registered interpreters who are already being paid by other parties regardless of their status as contractors.

There will also be a new pro tempore job classification allowing interpreters qualified by the courts for these jobs to be paid daily for their work: “Beginning January 1, 2025, this bill would instead rename a court interpreter pro tempore as an intermittent, part-time interpreter and would make conforming changes,” reads the final version of AB 1032. 

From January 2025, courts will also be authorized to hire registered and non-registered interpreters as employees to perform relay interpretation, but only if the trial court has already employed another interpreter of the same language pair. Trial courts will also be authorized to set additional local compensation for interpreters.

Ethical Social Media Behavior

Updates to ethics mandates will also come into effect as per procedural changes described in detail in the Judicial Council’s updated compliance requirements (PDF).

According to a legal site, interpreters will also need to adhere to specific guidelines regarding their virtual and social media presence and conduct, to prevent them from raising questions about their impartiality or inadvertently exposing sensitive client information.

Some updates would require interpreters to clearly identify themselves and their language on screen, and adhere to common sense conduct like remaining visible on camera throughout proceedings other than during sanctioned breaks. The new guidelines also address wearing professional attire and having a neutral background during remote interpreting sessions. 

Interpreters are also cautioned against engaging in social media activities such as endorsing attorneys or posting about case assignments, which could compromise their impartiality.

Certified court interpreters have to take a mandatory live and remote ethics workshop considering those and other topics offered by the state’s Judicial Council within the first two years after earning their credentials.

Certified interpreters with more than two years with the credential will need to take an online ethics refresher course. Additionally, certified and registered interpreters directly employed by the California courts will have to continue following whatever terms apply to them in the Code of Ethics for the Court Employees of California.

Besides ethics, the updated compliance requirements for California-certified court and registered interpreters addresses logistics for the compliance cycle, including fees, suspension periods, and ways to pay, contest, or get reinstated.

Continued education requirements were also revised to include earning credits by teaching approved activities within a two-year period, a reduction in the number of hours required (i.e., credits) per credential maintenance cycle, updates to acceptable forms of professional experience to use for credit, and allowing for more flexible formats to comply, including online courses.