Best Ohio National Origin Discrimination Attorney Answer: Can my employer discriminate against me because I’m American? Do I need a lawyer if my company favors foreign workers? What should I do If I was wrongfully fired because of my national origin?
When the idea of “national origin discrimination” comes to mind, many think of a situation where an American employer is discriminating against employees who are from outside of the United States. While it is true that national origin discrimination is most often perpetrated against employees from Central and South America, Africa and Asia, there are certain instances when employees who are American-born face discrimination because of their national origin. While obviously rare, discriminating against an employee because of their national origin, no matter where that origin resides, is illegal and violates Ohio and federal law.
Our employment discrimination lawyers have previous blogged about so-called reverse national origin discrimination, as well as reverse race discrimination (here, here, and here). In doing so, our employment lawyers repeatedly emphasize that the law is color blind (as well as being blind to national origin, gender, and religion). Because of this blindness, the federal law’s Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Ohio’s R.C. § 4112.99 does not contain or remotely address the term, “reverse discrimination.” The simple principal of these employment discrimination laws is that your employer cannot make decisions based on these protected classes. (Note, that unlike other protected classes age and disability discriminations laws do not protect the young or those workers that are not disabled.)
This issue was recently reinforced in a disability discrimination lawsuit against a Georgia farm that was systematically discriminating against American-born employees. The lawsuit alleges that J&R Baker Farms LLC engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against American workers, most of whom were African-American, by favoring employees who were born outside the United States. J&R used national origin as a factor in terminated American workers and would offer American workers fewer work opportunities. More specifically, American-born workers would consistently have their work start times delayed and were sent home early while foreign workers were permitted to work much longer hours. American-born workers also had a different set of production standards than their foreign-born counterparts. J&R discrimination of American-born employees led to a considerable pay difference between American and foreign employees.
While discrimination against American-born is admittedly rare, it certainly is becoming a more prevalent issue, particularly in certain industries. The J&R case illustrates that the agriculture industry is a potential hotbed of national origin discrimination against American-born workers due to the fact that many large farms and farming companies employee primarily foreign-born workers. Simply because American-born workers are not usually thought of to be treated less favorably than foreign workers does not mean they are not protected under the law. Ohio and federal law protects against discrimination on the basis of national origin for all workers, even if they are facing discrimination in the county of his or her birth.
If you feel that your employer is discriminating against you based on your national origin (American, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Palestinian, Syrian, Asian, Indian, or Russian), you may have a legal claim. To find out if you have a legal claim for national origin discrimination, your best option is to call the right attorney at 866-797-6040 to schedule a free and confidential consultation. At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, you will meet with a national origin discrimination attorney, who will be able to tell you what your legal rights are and the best way to protect them.
Disclaimer:
The materials available at this employment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking, “How do I …”, “What should I do …,” “Can my boss discriminate against me because I’m (Mexican, Puerto Rican, Russian, Palestinian, Syrian, Japanese)?” or “I was fired for my religious beliefs. What can I do?”, it would be best for to contact an Ohio attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular religious discrimination or other employment law issue or problem.
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