EEOC Releases New and Updated Educational Materials on National Origin Discrimination

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today released new and updated educational materials reaffirming Chair Andrea Lucas’ commitment to advancing robust enforcement and awareness around national origin discrimination and Anti-American bias. The agency issued a new one-page technical assistance document, “Discrimination Against American Workers Is Against The Law” to help workers understand their rights.

The agency also updated its national origin discrimination landing page (a page on the agency’s website that gathers information and resources regarding national origin discrimination) with additional helpful information for both workers and employers on what unlawful national origin discrimination can look like in the workplace and how individuals can act if they believe their rights have been violated.

Both resources are based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, existing EEOC policy guidance and technical assistance documents, and Supreme Court precedent. The landing page also notes that misconduct involving national origin discrimination may violate other laws in addition to Title VII, and provides links to the EEOC’s federal agency partners, including the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.

The new and updated materials underscore EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas’ continued focus on strengthening compliance with civil rights protections against national origin discrimination and ensuring those protections are applied evenhandedly to all workers. They also reflect her priority to confront unlawful anti-American national origin bias, an area she has identified as a significant and ongoing focus for the agency’s compliance efforts, enforcement work, and litigation.

“The EEOC is here to protect all workers from unlawful national origin discrimination — including American workers,” Lucas said. “Unlawful bias against American workers, in violation of Title VII, is a large-scale problem in multiple industries nationwide. Many employers have policies and practices preferring illegal aliens, migrant workers, or non-immigrant guest workers (guest worker visa holders) over American workers — in direct violation of federal employment law. The EEOC is committed to ensuring employers and workers better understand the even-handed protections provided to all workers by Title VII’s prohibition against national origin discrimination.”

Discrimination based on national origin at work involves treating employees or applicants unfavorably or favorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background, all of which could violate Title VII.

Lucas said, “Nothing justifies illegal national origin discrimination — whether rooted in cost of labor, customer preferences, or stereotypes.”

The educational resources provide information about how national origin discrimination can take many forms, including disparate treatment, harassment, retaliation, job advertisements, or hiring decisions.

Employees or job seekers who suspect they may have been subjected to national origin discrimination are encouraged to review information on filing a charge at https://www.eeoc.gov/filing-charge-discrimination.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.