National Origin Discrimination in the Workplace

You can't discriminate against people based on their national origin -- or on anything relating to their national origin.

It is illegal to harass or discriminate against an employee or an applicant for employment based on national origin. The federal law that prohibits national origin discrimination and harassment is Title VII. (For a description of Title VII, see Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws.) Many state laws also prohibit this type of discrimination and harassment.

The prohibition against national origin discrimination generally means that you cannot make employment decisions based on an individual's:

• birthplace
• ancestry
• culture
• native language
• accent (unless the accent affects the individual's ability to perform the job)
• marriage or association with people of a national ethnic group
• membership or association with a ethnic cultural organization
• attendance or participation in schools, churches, temples or mosques that are generally associated with a specific ethnic group, or
• name that is associated with a specific ethnic group.

This prohibition against national origin discrimination applies to all phases of the employment relationship, including: help-wanted ads, interviewing, hiring, compensation, benefits, promotion, discipline, job evaluations, demotion, training, job assignments, layoff and termination.

In addition to prohibiting intentional discrimination, these laws prohibit employer practices that seem neutral, but that have a disproportionate impact on people because of their national origin. Such a policy is legal only if there's a valid business reason for its existence. For example, if you refuse to hire people who don't meet minimum height and weight criteria, you may be discriminating against people of Asian descent, who will be disproportionately affected by this rule. The rule will only pass legal muster if you can show it is clearly related to the physical demands of the particular job -- heavy lifting in a warehouse, for example.

Under very narrow circumstances, employers can discriminate on the basis of national origin if a person's national origin is somehow intrinsic to the job.

The same laws that prohibit national origin discrimination and harassment also prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who assert their rights under these laws.