A great many of our cases involve discrimination and retaliation. We are heavily involved in cases of discrimination based on race, disability, gender, national origin, and ethnicity.
National Origin Discrimination in Workplace
National Origin Discrimination in employment is an illegal practice that involves unfair treatment of employees or applicants based on their national origin, nationality, birthplace, ancestry, culture, citizenship or language.1 This includes mistreatment because of one’s accent and mistreatment because an individual looks like they are from a certain ethnic background, even if they are not.2 Language discrimination and discrimination based on citizenship are also forms of national origin discrimination. For example, an employer cannot require an employee to speak fluent English if fluency in English is not required for job performance.3 While single jokes or comments are not illegal, both state and federal law prohibit harassment based on the various types of national origin discrimination.4 Furthermore, discrimination can occur even if the victim and the perpetrator have the same cultural background or national origin.5
Applicable Laws
Both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.S. § 2000e et seq.) and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“LAD” or “NJLAD”) (N.J.S.A. § 10:5-12) prohibit employers from using the national origin of an employee or potential employee as a reason for any job-related action.
National Origin Discrimination in the Hiring Process
There are many ways in which an employer can discriminate an applicant in the hiring process based on their national origin. Some examples of this include: failing to hire an applicant because of their accent; failing to hire an applicant because of their country of origin; telling applicants they do not hire people of a certain culture or background; telling applicants they can only speak English at work when it is not relevant to job performance; etc.
National Origin Discrimination in the Workplace
Additionally, national origin discrimination can easily occur during the course of employment. Some forms of this discrimination include: directing ethnic slurs at employees; giving preferential treatment to employees of one culture over another; prohibiting a foreign language from being spoken at work; mistreating employees because of their immigration status; demoting or terminating employees because of their culture or national origin.
Remedies
If you feel that you have been discriminated against based on your culture or country of origin, you may have several remedies available to you. Potential relief from discrimination can include backpay and other monetary damages, reinstatement of employment, and/or forcing the employer to stop the discriminatory practice.
Do you believe you have been treated unfairly on account of your national origin? It’s important to act quickly to find out if you may have a claim under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and/or Title VII. Since every situation is different, an experienced New Jersey employment attorney can help you fully understand your rights under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and Title VII.
The attorneys at Hyderally & Associates are ready to help you. They have experience working with state and federal discrimination laws, so they can review your situation to provide information that will help you decide if you would like to pursue a claim against your employer under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination or Title VII. Call an experienced employment attorney in New Jersey at (973) 509-8500.
This article is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice, and may not reasonably be relied upon as such. If you face a legal issue, you should consult a qualified attorney for independent legal advice with regard to your particular set of facts. This article may constitute attorney advertising. This article is not intended to communicate with anyone in a state or other jurisdiction where such an article may fail to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state or jurisdiction.
- 1Employment Discrimination, The State of New Jersey Department of Law & Public Safety, http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/employ.html.
- 2National Origin Discrimination, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/nationalorigin.cfm.
- 3Id.
- 4Id.
- 5Id.