Many people worry that immigrants are unprotected when they come to America to work. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has laws protecting workers from employment discrimination, including immigrants. What should workers know about these laws?
The Role of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1965. This federal agency enforces laws related to employment discrimination and harassment, which apply to many entities other than employers, including employment agencies and unions. When people think they have been discriminated against by one of these entities, they can contact the agency for assistance.
Workers must know there are strict time limits for filing a discrimination charge. If the time limit passes, the EEOC may be unable to help. The agency investigates to determine which laws, if any, were violated. People often assume these laws apply only to American citizens, but there are protections for undocumented workers in place. And in cases of wrongful termination, make sure to consult attorneys for wrongful firing for professional legal assistance.
National Origin Discrimination
Employers cannot discriminate against a person based on their national orientation. For example, they cannot refuse to hire an employee or fire this employee because of their birthplace, appearance, or customs. The employee doesn’t need to show they were born in another country if they can prove the employer discriminated against them because they had characteristics of a different group.
In addition, employers cannot treat employees differently because they associate with individuals from another national origin group. Employees can choose which schools to attend and where to worship without fear or retaliation. The same holds true when discussing a partner’s name. The employer cannot discriminate against a worker based on their partner’s name. To protect themselves, employees should consider documenting evidence of inequality at work to ensure they have a record of any discriminatory actions.
Employers cannot implement practices that would negatively affect certain national origin groups. Certain hiring practices can exclude people of a national origin group. Employers, for example, cannot require employees to be a certain height, maintain citizenship status, or hold a high school diploma for certain positions.
Ethnic slurs are other conduct directed toward a person’s nationality that is not accepted in the workplace if it is severe or pervasive. They lead to a hostile work environment, which is bad for all employees. These actions may interfere with work performance or harm a person’s job opportunities. Employers also cannot discriminate against a person based on their accent unless it interferes with their ability to carry out their duties.
Furthermore, employers cannot require employees to speak only English in the workplace unless the employee is warning others of an emergency, communicating with clients and coworkers who only speak English, or working on a project with employees whose primary language is English.
Employers cannot discriminate against employees based on their appearance. When a person is dressed appropriately and meets all job requirements, they should be considered equally with all other candidates. The workplace dress code must also apply to all employees.
The Immigration and Nationality Act
The Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division maintains an Immigrant and Employee Rights Section to investigate these discrimination claims. This division works with the EEOC when doing so.
Employment discrimination comes in many forms. Discrimination based on race, sex, and color are a few that people think of. However, employers may not discriminate based on a person’s mental or physical disability or age, regardless of whether they are
American citizens or undocumented workers.
Employers cannot retaliate against employees who file discrimination charges and cannot do anything to those who serve as witnesses in a discrimination case. The laws apply to all work aspects, from recruitment to layoffs and termination. Anyone who feels they have been a victim of workplace discrimination should contact an attorney for help, as everyone deserves access to gainful employment, regardless of their citizenship status.