National Origin Discrimination

National origin discrimination in the workplace occurs when a person is treated less favorably than another person in a similar situation because of his or her national origin. “National origin” can refer to not only a person’s birthplace, but also to his or her ancestry, cultural characteristics, or linguistic characteristics. There are both federal and California state laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace based on an employee’s or an applicant’s national origin. Despite the fact that anti-discrimination laws have been around for over 50 years, national origin discrimination continues to be an issue in California workplaces. People are commonly discriminated based on language or accent, physical or cultural traits such as clothing, or based on multilingualism. National origin discrimination takes on a number of forms. In some cases, employers refuse to hire qualified candidates or refuse to promote qualified employees for no other reason than their national origin. In other cases, members of certain nationalities are only assigned to territories that have populations of the same nationality. Employers who discriminate based on the national origin of an employee face serious consequences and victims of such discrimination are entitled to compensation. If you are in need of an employment lawyer because you have suffered national origin discrimination on the job, it is important that you immediately contact an experienced Los Angeles National Origin Discrimination Lawyer who will make sure your employer is held accountable for violating the law.

Applicable Laws

Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(a), employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees or applicants based on a number of attributes including national origin. FEHA only applies to employers with at least 5 employees, and is enforced by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race and color, as well as sex, national origin, and religion. It generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including federal, state, and local governments. It is enforced by the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission.

Types of National Origin Discrimination

National origin discrimination in the workplace can take a number of different forms:

• Employment decisions. Job requirements must be applied uniformly to people of all national origins. In other words, employers may not hire, fire, or discipline someone based on their nationality.
• Benefits of employment. Employers cannot discriminate with respect to benefits of employment such as compensation, training, work assignments, health insurance, and vacation benefits.
• Harassment. Harassment, bullying, or isolating an employee because of national origin is a form of discrimination in violation of the law.

Examples

• Requiring a Muslim employee to remove her headscarf while at work.
• Making jokes about Mexicans around Mexican employees.
• Firing a Caucasian woman after discovering that she is married to an Indian man.

Consequences of National Origin Discrimination in the Workplace

If you suffered discrimination or harassment in the workplace based on your national origin, you have the right to file a civil claim and recover back pay as well as punitive damages. Punitive damages are compensation awarded to a plaintiff in addition to back pay in order to punish the defendant for a willful or reckless act.

In addition to civil damages the employer may be required to pay you, the employer will also be required to pay government agencies significant penalties fines for violating the law.

Statute of Limitations

Statute of limitations law gives the time limit that a plaintiff has to bring a claim against another person or entity. The statute of limitations will vary depending on whether the employee chooses to file claim under state or federal law. Under Title VII, the statute of limitations is normally 180 days after date of the discriminatory act. If the employee chooses instead to pursue remedies under FEHA, a complaint must be filed with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one-year of the alleged discriminatory act. Failure to timely file a claim will may mean that you will be forever barred from pursuing compensation in your racial discrimination case even if your case has merit.

Los Angeles National Origin Discrimination Lawyer

If you believe that your employer fired you, constructively discharged you, or in any other way discriminated against you based on your national origin, you should immediately discuss the specifics of your case with an experienced employment lawyer as there are time limits for filing claims based on national origin discrimination. Not only may the discriminating party face serious consequences, you as the victim may be entitled to compensation. The staff at VAKILI & LEUS, LLP has years of experience successfully representing clients in matters involving wage-and-hour claims, employment discrimination and other employment law violations. Contact us at 1-855-52LA-LAW (1-855-525-2529) to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your concerns related to your employment.

---