National Origin Discrimination On the Rise

The recent shooting of three Muslim students at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill has brought national attention to the issues of racial and religious discrimination.

According to reports, the man accused of killing the students had a history of using “hateful” terms toward the students and exhibiting significant intolerance. It has not been determined yet whether these murders will be charged as hate crimes, but it has underscored the need for anti-discrimination policies to be in place.

Additionally, with the increased news coverage of Muslim radicals engaging in horrific acts of terror, campuses and places of employment have seen an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment, and an increase in potentially illegal national origin discrimination.

National origin discrimination means treating someone less favorably because he or she is from a particular place, because of his or her ethnicity or accent, or because it is believed that he or she has a particular ethnic background. National origin discrimination also means treating someone less favorably at work because of marriage or other association with someone of a particular nationality.

National origin discrimination can manifest itself in a number of ways–accent discrimination, English fluency and English-only rules, and ethnic slurs are just some of the forms that national origin discrimination can take. Whatever the basis of the discrimination, your employer may not take adverse action against you because of your national origin. This also includes harassment, such as name-calling or abuse because of your national origin. Also, like the other anti-discrimination laws, the national origin discrimination rules also prohibit retaliation against you for complaining about national origin discrimination or for participating in someone else’s national origin discrimination case.

For more information or if you or a loved one believe that you have suffered discrimination based on your national origin, please contact the experienced Georgia employment discrimination lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for a immediate consultation.