b'National Origin, Citizenship and Immigration Status DiscriminationWho, What, Why . . . Who does it apply to: Part of the protection comes from Titlemay affect any worker. That said, certain national origins might VII, which applies to employers with 15 or more employees. Anbe adversely affected because of their accent. This facially overlapping part of the protection comes from the Immigrationneutral rule has a disparate impact against workers of certain Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which applies to employers withnational origins and may create a claim.four or more employees.What counts as a national origin, citizenship, or immigration What is the issue: Title VII was passed in the 1960s to protectstatus: The law goes way beyond what most employers would againstdiscriminationbasedonrace,color,religion,sexorthink.national origin. The IRCA was passed to resolve a number of Nationaloriginincludesbirthplace,ancestry,culture, immigration-related issues but includes a provision that protectslinguistic characteristics and accent.againstemployersdiscriminatinginhiringordischargingan CitizenshipincludesU.S.citizenshipandcitizenshipof employeebasedoncitizenshiporimmigrationstatus(notanother nation for individuals legally in the country under including unauthorized aliens). U.S. law.WhatamIrequiredtodo:Employersarerequirednotto Immigration status includes any type of U.S. government-discriminate against employees on the basis of national origin.authorized visa or other work authorization that declares Morespecifically,employersarerequirednottotreatanthe intention to become a U.S. citizen.employee adversely with any consideration of his or her nationalWhat if my employee violates without consent: Choose carefully origin, citizenship or immigration status in relationship to anywho you place in charge. Employees placed in positions of significant aspect of employment. authority with the power to control the circumstances of other employees are not personally liable. Their liability is placed What constitutes a violation: There are two kinds of violations:with the employer even if the employee acts without authority. direct mistreatment and disparate impact. Direct mistreatmentThe same is true of independent contractors (whether properly isstraightforward.Ifanemployeraffirmativelymistreatsancharacterizedornot)placedinpositionsofauthorityover employee because of national origin, citizenship or immigrationemployees.status by failing to hire or firing the employee, it can be actionable discrimination. Similarly, employers who demote or otherwiseWhat if national origin or citizenship is a requirement of the significantly slight an employee based on national origin may bejob: Sometimes an employer may require a person to have liable for disparate treatment. a certain national origin, citizenship or immigration status to obtain a position. An exception is made in the law for what are Disparate impact is more subtle. If an employer creates a policycalled bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ). BFOQs that is neutral or non-discriminatory on its face, that policy mightare complicated, however. You should always check with your have a consequence of negatively impacting workers of oneemployment counsel before enacting a BFOQ.national origin more significantly than others. If an employer institutesapolicythatemployeesmusthaveclearEnglish diction, the policy itself does not seem discriminatory because it 59'