Workers
You have protections against discrimination
You have the right to protections against discrimination based on your national origin. National origin discrimination involves treating individuals unfavorably because they (or their ancestors) are from a certain place or have the physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics of a particular national origin group. Though your employers are prohibited from hiring individuals who aren’t authorized to work, they can’t discriminate based on national origin – regardless of immigration status or authorization to work. Your employer can’t require you to speak a language fluently or proficiently unless it’s necessary to perform your job effectively. Your employer can’t base employment decisions on your accent unless it seriously interferes with your job performance. It’s discriminatory for your employer to take an employment action in response to the discriminatory preferences of others, such as customers or coworkers.
Discrimination can occur when you and the person who discriminated against you share a protected characteristic such as national origin.
You have the right to file a complaint or a Charge of Discrimination, participate in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit, engage in any protected activity, or oppose harassment or discrimination without being retaliated against by your employer.
What this means for you
Employers are not allowed to discriminate against you because of:
your or your ancestors’ place of origin,
your ethnicity,
your accent or language fluency, or
your marriage or association with a person of a certain national origin.
Examples of discrimination
In general, this means that you cannot be:
fired,
rejected for a job or promotion,
given lesser assignments,
forced to take leave, or
otherwise disciplined because of your national origin.
Learn about filing a complaint with the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER)
Learn about filing a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Employers
You have the responsibility to ensure nondiscrimination for workers
You must treat job applicants as well as current employees equally, regardless of national origin. In general, this means you can’t:
fire,
reject for a job or promotion,
give lesser assignments to,
force to take leave, or
otherwise negatively alter the terms and conditions of employment for an individual because of their national origin.
National origin discrimination involves treating someone differently because they (or their ancestors) are from a certain place or have the physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics of a particular national origin group. You can’t require job applicants or current employees to speak a language fluently or proficiently unless it’s necessary to perform their job effectively. You can’t base employment decisions on an individual’s accent, unless it seriously interferes with their job performance. Discrimination can occur when you and the person who discriminated against you are the same national origin.
You’re not allowed to discriminate against job applicants or current employees because of:
their or their ancestor’s place of origin,
their ethnicity,
their accent or language fluency, or
their marriage or association with a person of a certain national origin.
It would be discriminatory for you to take an employment action in response to the discriminatory preferences of others, such as customers or co-workers.
It would also be discriminatory for you to have a particular employment practice or policy that applies to everyone, regardless of national origin, if it negatively impacts people of a certain national origin. The only exception would be when you are able to show that the practice or policy is job-related and consistent with business necessity.
Additional Resources
Questions? We’re here to help
We are committed to helping you.
For additional assistance, please contact:
EEOC: 1-800-669-4000 (ASL Video Phone: 1-844-234-5122), info@eeoc.gov or use the Public Portal.
Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER) Section of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice: 1-800-255-7688 or IER@usdoj.gov.
Need more information?
The elaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) Advisors are a set of online tools developed by the U.S. Department of Labor to help employees and employers understand their rights and responsibilities under federal employment laws.