National Origin
Discrimination Law
Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of
national origin. The EEOC defines national origin discrimination as denial of
equal employment opportunity because of a person's, or his or her ancestor's,
place of origin; or because a person has the physical, cultural, or cultural,
or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group. National origin
further encompasses accent, affiliation, alienage (alien status), ancestry and appearance.
Accents
have been used by employers as a proxy for national origin discrimination. A
person's accent can be considered a sign that the person is not a native of
America. Consequently, adverse employment decisions involving a person's accent
are closely scrutinized by the courts.
Affiliations
involve discrimination on the basis of a person's marriage to a member of a
national origin group or participation in schools, churches, temples or mosques
used by people of a national origin group. Employers are required to make
employment decisions on the basis of the employee's qualifications and
performance and not on the basis of the employee's affiliations.
While
the EEOC does not consider employment decisions based upon citizenship to
violate Title VII unless it has the purpose or effect of discriminating against
a national origin group, other federal statutes prohibit employers from
discrimination on the basis of alienage.
Appearance
when related to a person's national origin cannot be used by an employer as the
basis for an employment action. The law also protects employees who appear
(from the perception of the employer) to be a member of a national origin group
even where the employee is not actually a member of the national origin group.
