Whether an employee or job applicant's ancestry is Polish, Irish, Ukrainian, Japanese, Iraqi, American Indian, or any other nationality, he or she is entitled to the same employment opportunities as anyone else. We represent individuals in national origin discrimination claims against their employer. If you believe you have a claim of national origin discrimination, please contact us.

NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION

National origin discrimination occurs when an employer discriminates against an employee because he or she comes from a particular place, because of ethnicity, because of accent. The discrimination can also be because of perceived ethnicity. More rare, but still illegal, is discrimination against an employee because he or she is married to someone of a particular nationality. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the EEOC has been inundated with claims of national origin discrimination against individuals perceived to be Arab.

Discrimination comes in a number of forms, and can include decisions about hiring, firing, layoff, promotion, training programs, job assignments, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Harassment can also be a form of national origin discrimination, if the harassment is severe or pervasive.

SPECIAL RULES FOR LANGUAGE

An employer may not discriminate against an employee because of a foreign accent. An English fluency requirement is only permissible if required to actually perform the job. English-only rules may only be adopted for nondiscriminatory reasons.

NON-U.S. CITIZENS

Federal and State laws prohibit discrimination against individuals employed in the United States, regardless of citizenship.

DEADLINES

The law imposes strict deadlines that a victim of national origin discrimination must meet to bring a claim. This deadline is generally 45 days for most federal employees. For State and private sector workers, the deadline is generally 180 to 300 days. If you believe you are a victim of national origin employment discrimination, please contact us immediately.