California is nationally recognized for its diversity. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, California has the highest percentage of population with different ethnicities in the country. Because of this diversity, California and federal legal framework is built around outlawing discrimination becasue of an employee’s person national origin.
But just because there are laws in place that make it illegal to discriminate against an employee because of their national origin doesn’t mean it never happens. Actually, on the contrary. It occurs in workplaces every day. When it does, knowing how to approach and deal with it is of vital importance. Maison Law can help you navigate these complex situations.
How to Identify National Origin Discrimination in the Workplace
In California, national origin discrimination is primarily composed of two elements:
- Allowing discriminatory acts to take place or taking adverse employment actions
- These adverse employment actions are substantially motivated by the employee’s national origin.
In practice, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits employers from discriminating against anyone on the basis of national origin relating to any aspect of employment, including:
- Failing to hire
- Failing to promote
- Inequitable salary/pay
- Terminating employment
- Laying off the employee or failing to recall them
- Failing to properly train them
- Giving them different assignments or responsibilities
- Not providing them with the same benefits as other employees
Further, discrimination can come from anyone in the workplace, including supervisors, trainees, management, administrative workers, and even non-employees like customers or vendors.
How Does National Origin Discrimination Differ from Other Forms of Discrimination?
Because national origin discriminaton involves different ethnic groups, it differs slightly from other instances of unlawful workplace discrimination in California. As we have covered, national origin discrimination means treating an employee less favorably from other employees. In general, national origin is intended to mean that the employee:
- Comes from a particular country or region
- Has a particular ethnic background
- Is married to a person of a particular national origin
What this means is that, when an employee has physical or cultural traits, clothing, or practices associated with a particular ethnic group or country, they are protected from unlawful discrimination. For example, employers or other workers cannot discriminate against an employee that wears certain ethnic clothing (i.e. turbans, yarmulkes, or saris) or because the employee has an accent.
Along those same lines, California employers cannot restrict the use of any language via company policies or procedures, except for very specific business reasons and only then upon providing notice in the proper way. Additionally, if there is a language restriction, it has to be “narrowly tailored”. Enforcing a language policy because it’s easier to speak with the employee or because of customer preference is insufficient.
Perception plays a key role in any national origin discrimination case. While the law provides for certain definitions of national origin, what matters is how the employer perceives an employee’s ethnicity, not necessarily how the employee identifies themself. What this means is that, in application, an employer cannot discriminate against any employee because of how the employer perceives that employee’s national origin. If an employer fires an employee that it believes to belong to an ethnic group, regardless if that employee actually identifies with that ethnic group, the employer has committed national origin discrimination and is liable for damages.
How to Prove National Origin Discrimination
Like any case, showing proof of discrimination is vital to a successful outcome. So that raises the question: how does an employee prove that they have suffered national origin discrimination? Generally, the path toward a national origin discrimination claim has four essential elements that the employee must demonstrate:
- They are members of a protected class, in this case national origin, according to federal and state law
- They are qualified for the position, either meeting the job requirements if they were passed over for the job or that they performed their duties up to expectations if they were currently employed.
- They were the victims of an adverse employment action, where the employee must show that they weren’t hired for the position or they were demoted, fired, or had their pay cut.
- Another employee who was not in the protected class and had lesser qualifications was hired instead of the employee claiming discrimination.
The existence of these elements is indeed a good starting point for a discrimination case, but it’s important to remember that any lawsuit is a gamble. Furthermore, national origin discrimination cases often incorporate other forms of discrimination, such as race and religious discrimination. Our team of expert discrimination lawyers at Maison Law can help you understand your case and how to best approach seeking compensation.
Work With Experienced California National Origin Discrimination Lawyers
Maison Law is proud to fight for any employee that is suffering discrimination in their workplace because of their ethnicity or national origin. California provides a great environment to live and work, so when employers fail to protect their employees from discrimination, they deserve to be held accountable. Contact Maison Law today to schedule a free case evaluation and discuss the pertinent next steps for your case.
