As employers know, federal law prohibits national origin discrimination and citizenship discrimination. While both these forms of discrimination can overlap, there are important differences between them.
Simply put, national origin discrimination is discrimination based on an individual’s country of origin, ancestry, culture, or language. It is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which covers employment discrimination, and state versions of that law (in California, the Fair Employment Housing Act). If this form of discrimination sounds like it is racially or ethnically motivated, it is because national origin discrimination often is.
By contrast, citizenship discrimination is discrimination based on a person’s citizenship status—and less so on a person’s country of origin, ancestry, culture, or language (although, of course, these may dovetail with a citizenship discrimination claim). Importantly, under federal law, the protections against citizenship discrimination are less robust than those against national origin discrimination in that the laws against citizenship discrimination protect only a subset of persons—i.e., U.S. citizens, permanent residents (“green-card holders”), asylees, and refugees—while the laws against national origin discrimination protect any work-authorized individual (for example those on temporary work-related visas).
While the law on national origin discrimination and citizenship discrimination are robust, they are not always absolute. One notable exception occurs when such forms of discrimination occur in the national interest under governing law or a contract with the United States government.
For more information on national origin and citizenship discrimination, please contact us at info@mnklawyers.com.
This material is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor does it create a client-lawyer relationship between MNK Law and any recipient. Recipients should consult with counsel before taking any actions based on the information contained within this material.
