You can be discriminated against for an identity you belong to at work, including your national origin. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prohibits employers from treating applicants or employees unfairly because they are from a particular county or part of the world.
This guide discusses how this can happen to you:
Offensive or disrespectful remarks about the particular country/region
If people in your office make disrespectful remarks about the country or region you identify with, you may be experiencing national origin discrimination. Of course, your employer and colleagues may want to learn more about your origin, but this does not mean asking disrespectful questions about what they have heard or confidently making comments.
Further, assuming you behave in a certain way or are good at a certain thing because of the county you are from can be discriminative. Cases of employers giving employees tasks based on stereotypes have been reported. Thus, you should pay attention to this.
Your colleagues can make simple teasing concerning the beliefs or current affairs of your country, but this should not be disrespectful or frequent so that it makes you uncomfortable.
Jokes about your accent
People in your office imitating your accent or joking about it may be discriminative. This can make you uncomfortable and can create a hostile work environment, as you may find yourself avoiding talking to people, and so on.
Does an English-only rule fall under this discrimination type?
Employers asking employees to speak English only or fluently may constitute national origin discrimination. Unless English is necessary to perform the job effectively, this rule may be discriminative for people who speak English as a second language.
If you believe you are facing national origin discrimination, it will help to get more information about your case to protect your rights.
