National Origin Discrimination
Your employer cannot treat you differently because of your birthplace, ancestry, ethnicity or accent, or because you appear to be of a certain ethnic background (even if you are not). Your employer also cannot harass you or create an unreasonable environment at work based on your national origin.
How do I know if I have been a Victim of National Origin of Discrimination at Work?
Discrimination can be very obvious, such as racial slurs or name-calling – but can also take more subtle forms such as requiring English fluency or other English-only rules. National origin discrimination rules also prohibit retaliation against you for complaining about national origin discrimination or for participating in someone else's national origin discrimination case.
Regardless of your citizenship status, you are protected against national origin discrimination
The law does not allow national origin discrimination in any aspect of employment, including applying for a job, hiring, training, pay, job assignments, promotions, fringe benefits, layoff, termination, and any other term or privileges of employment.
National origin discrimination also can involve treating people harshly because they are married to (or associated with) a person of a certain national origin or because of their connection with an ethnic organization or group.
Discrimination can occur even if the victim and the person who caused the discrimination are of the same national origin.
National Origin Harassment
It is unlawful to harass a person due to his or her national origin.
Harassment can include offensive remarks about a person's national origin, accent, or ethnicity. and is illegal when it is recurrent or severe, creating a hostile work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the employee being demoted or fired).
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.
National Origin & Employment
National origin discrimination may include:
- Terminating employment because of the employee’s accent unless the accent seriously interferes with the employee’s job performance.
- Requiring English only as a condition of employment unless English is necessary to perform the job effectively. It is only allowed if it is needed to ensure the safe or efficient operation of the employer’s business and is put in place for nondiscriminatory reasons.
- Refusing to hire an employee because the employee’s surname is of a particular ethnicity or national origin.
- Paying a person of a different national origin less than their counterparts.
Citizenship Discrimination & Workplace Laws
Under The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), it is illegal for an employer to discriminate based on an individual's citizenship or immigration status. The law prohibits employers from hiring solely U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents unless required to do so by law, regulation, or government contract. Employers may not refuse to accept lawful documentation that establishes the employment eligibility of an employee or demand additional documentation beyond what is legally required, based on the employee's national origin or citizenship status. It is the employee's choice which of the acceptable Form I-9 documents to show to verify employment eligibility.
IRCA also prohibits retaliation against individuals for asserting their rights under the Act, or for filing a charge or assisting in an investigation or proceeding under IRCA.
Because national origin discrimination may include discrimination based upon physical characteristics, race discrimination is also frequently an additional law violation accompanying national origin discrimination. Due to certain religious traditions and rituals being associated with nationality, religious discrimination may also be a factor in a case that also involves national origin discrimination.
Time Limits
Federal law and certain state laws require employees who wish to initiate charges of national origin discrimination to file according to strict deadlines.
If you believe you are being discriminated against on the basis of your national origin, Henrichsen Law Group, PLLC’s employment law team will be your partner in protecting your rights. We are experienced at representing employees who have been discriminated against because of their national origin. Our attorneys handle cases in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Georgia.
