National Origin Discrimination

National origin discrimination occurs when an employee is treated differently because of the employee's ethnicity, accent, or association with someone of a particular nationality.

The Civil Rights Act

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII") prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin, cultural heritage, accent or native language. Title VII applies to state and local governments, the federal government, and private employers, employment agencies and unions with over fifteen employees. Title VII offers the following protections to all individuals employed in the United States, regardless of citizenship:

• Employers are prohibited from enacting a "U.S. citizens only" hiring policy, unless required to do so by a government contract or by federal, state or local law.
• Employers are prohibited from making employment decisions on the basis of ethnicity or national origin. Employment decisions include hiring, firing, promoting, demoting, and determining assignments and workloads. Title VII allows an exception to this rule if an individual's national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ). National origin is a BFOQ when it is an essential part of a job description. For example, an employer may lawfully advertise for an Filipino individual to play a Filipino character in a play or movie.
• Employees have the right to be free from harassment in the workplace. Harassment includes offensive comments, jokes, ethnic slurs and physical behavior that creates an intimidating or hostile work environment.
• An employer is prohibited from basing an employment decision on an employee's foreign accent unless the accent significantly interferes with the employee's job performance.
• An employer may not call for an employee to be fluent in the English language unless fluency is required by the position.
• An employer may not impose an "English only" rule in the workplace, unless the employer has a non-discriminatory business purpose for doing so. For example, an employer may require that English be spoken whenever a customer is present. An employer may not, however, require that English be spoken at all times, such as during breaks or outside the workplace.
• Employers are prohibited from punishing or otherwise acting adversely toward employees who report instances of ethnic discrimination or file charges against their employer for engaging in such discrimination.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) protects U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and authorized aliens from employment discrimination on the basis of national origin. An employer violates the IRCA by requesting additional employment verification from employees of a particular national origin, or by requiring U.S. citizenship as a condition of employment.

Reporting National Origin Discrimination

All instances of national origin discrimination in the workplace should be reported to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC enforces Title VII, as well as all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices and policies. A charge of national origin discrimination may be filed by any individual who legitimately believes that his or her employment rights have been violated. Additionally, an individual, agency, or organization may file a charge on behalf of the affected individual.

Potential Damages

An employee may also choose to file a private lawsuit against his or her employer. If an employee is successful in bringing a claim for national origin discrimination, the employee may recover lost wages and other benefits, damages for emotional distress, attorneys fees and punitive damages. It is important to note, however, that while Title VII applies to all individuals employed in the United States, relief may be limited if an employee is not authorized to work in the United States.