New York City National Origin Discrimination Lawyers

• Employers cannot discriminate among work-authorized individuals, including citizens, refugees, permanent residents, asylees, and even those granted temporary status unless explicitly permitted or required by law.
• Employers cannot apply selectiveness in drafting job interview questions related to work authorization. Such questions must be applied uniformly to all applicants based on the applicant’s perceived or actual immigration status or national origin.
• Employers who employ workers without work authorization cannot mistreat those workers based on their immigration status.
• Employers cannot practice ‘document abuse.’ This refers to requesting documents that aren’t required to establish work authorization (e.g., birth certificates and green cards).
• Employers are required to accept documents listed under the ‘List of Acceptable Documents‘ as established by federal law on Form 1-9.
• Employers may not re-verify an employee’s work authorization except in limited, specified circumstances.
• Employers cannot take any adverse action against an application or employee based on a ‘No-Match Letter‘ from the Social Security Administration.
• Suppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents visit a particular workplace without a warrant signed by a judge. In that case, employers may deny them access to non-public facing areas of their workplace.
• Similarly, employers may not threaten their foreign employees with ICE involvement to harass, retaliate or intimidate against them.
• The NYCHRL prohibits using terms such as ‘illegals’ or ‘illegal aliens’ to describe foreign or undocumented workers.

This guideline further explains certain examples of specific incidents that violate NYCHRL. They include:

• Granting workers varying breaks due to their immigration or employment authorization status.
• Threatening to contact ICE if a worker attends a medical appointment deemed necessary.
• Declining a Social Security card or requesting a birth certificate as proof of authorization or nationality based on an employee’s or applicant’s accent.
• Prohibiting hotel housekeepers from speaking Spanish as they conduct their duties because it might make non-Spanish speaking guests uncomfortable.
• Referring to a No-Match letter as an excuse to terminate the employment of an otherwise qualified worker.
• Providing workers first priority in scheduling based on their nationality to the disadvantage of workers from outside the United States or any other nationality.

Examples of National Origin Discrimination in the Workplace

While incidents of national origin discrimination vary depending on circumstances, here are some practical examples.

• You’ve qualified for promotion, but your employer believes that someone else deserves the role based on their nationality even though they aren’t as qualified.
• Your colleagues make fun of your accent, and your bosses deny your application for certain roles because they feel it’ll upset their clients.
• Your employer pays you less because you’re from a particular nationality or affiliated with a particular culture, religion, etc.

What To Do if You’re a Victim of National Origin Discrimination in the Workplace

If you believe you’ve been discriminated against based on your nationality, religion, culture, accent, or anything in between, here’s what to do.

• Document the incident, including date, time, place, witnesses, and description.
• Keep doing a good job – don’t stop performing your duties because of the discrimination incident.
• Seek help from friends and family as well as professionals, mental health providers and experienced national origin discrimination lawyers.
• Report the incident to your supervisor and HR in the workplace.
• Evaluate your employer’s policy on national origin discrimination and follow it.
• Keep evidence of the discrimination incidents.
• Make copies of your complaints.
• Understand your rights – your employer cannot retaliate against you for filing a national origin discrimination claim.