People with Disabilities & SD Awareness

Employment Discrimination and the 2009 H1N1 Flu Virus (Swine Flu)

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of national origin, for example, discrimination against Mexicans.

See Title VII statute, regulations, and guidance prohibiting national origin discrimination.

Title VII prohibits national origin discrimination against employees who work in the United States for covered employers, regardless of citizenship or work authorization. While federal law prohibits employers from employing individuals lacking work authorization, employers who nonetheless employ undocumented workers are prohibited from discriminating against those workers.

Title I of the Americans With Disabilities Act (the ADA) regulates medical examinations and disability-related inquiries of employees and applicants, only permitting them if certain conditions are met.

For the EEOC's guidance about exams and inquiries of employees, see EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Examinations of Employees Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, (defining medical examination and disability-related inquiry and explaining conditions under which they may be given to employees).

For the EEOC's guidance about exams and inquiries of applicants, see EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Preemployment Disability-Related Questions and Medical Examinations.

Resources:
http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/h1n1.html (May 11, 2009)
http://www.eeoc.gov/origin/index.html National Origin Discrimination (March 11, 2009)
http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/guidance-inquiries.html Related Inquiries and Medical Examinations (March 2005) http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/preemp.html[/url] (July 6, 2000)

National Origin Discrimination

Whether an employee or job applicant's ancestry is Mexican, Ukrainian, Filipino, Arab, American Indian, or any other nationality, he or she is entitled to the same employment opportunities as anyone else. EEOC enforces the federal prohibition against national origin discrimination in employment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which covers employers with fifteen (15) or more employees.

About National Origin Discrimination:
National origin discrimination means treating someone less favorably because he or she comes 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.

Examples of violations covered under Title VII include: (Resource: DIRECTIVES TRANSMITTAL Number 915.003 EEOC December 2, 2002)

Employment Decisions
Title VII prohibits any employment decision, including recruitment, hiring, and firing or layoffs, based on national origin.

Harassment
Title VII prohibits offensive conduct, such as ethnic slurs, that creates a hostile work environment based on national origin. Employers are required to take appropriate steps to prevent and correct unlawful harassment. Likewise, employees are responsible for reporting harassment at an early stage to prevent its escalation.

Language
Accent discrimination
An employer may not base a decision on an employee's foreign accent unless the accent materially interferes with job performance.

English fluency
A fluency requirement is only permissible if required for the effective performance of the position for which it is imposed.

English-only rules
English-only rules must be adopted for nondiscriminatory reasons. An English-only rule may be used if it is needed to promote the safe or efficient operation of the employer's business.

Coverage of foreign nationals
Title VII and the other antidiscrimination laws prohibit discrimination against individuals employed in the United States, regardless of citizenship. However, relief may be limited if an individual does not have work authorization.

Statistics
In Fiscal Year 2008, EEOC received 10,601 charges of national origin discrimination. Including charges from previous years, 8,498 charges were resolved, and monetary benefits for charging parties totaled $25.4 million (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).

Charge statistics: ( view chart) http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/origin.html

Resource: http://www.eeoc.gov/origin/index.html

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Definitions of Terms

Administrative Closure
Charge closed for administrative reasons, which include: failure to locate charging party, charging party failed to respond to EEOC communications, charging party refused to accept full relief, closed due to the outcome of related litigation which establishes a precedent that makes further processing of the charge futile, charging party requests withdrawal of a charge without receiving benefits or having resolved the issue, no statutory jurisdiction.

Merit Resolutions
Charges with outcomes favorable to charging parties and/or charges with meritorious allegations. These include negotiated settlements, withdrawals with benefits, successful conciliations, and unsuccessful conciliations.

No Reasonable Cause
EEOC's determination of no reasonable cause to believe that discrimination occurred based upon evidence obtained in investigation. The charging party may exercise the right to bring private court action.

Reasonable Cause
EEOC's determination of reasonable cause to believe that discrimination occurred based upon evidence obtained in investigation. Reasonable cause determinations are generally followed by efforts to conciliate the discriminatory issues which gave rise to the initial charge. NOTE: Some reasonable cause findings are resolved through negotiated settlements, withdrawals with benefits, and other types of resolutions, which are not characterized as either successful or unsuccessful conciliations.

Settlements (Negotiated)
Charges settled with benefits to the charging party as warranted by evidence of record. In such cases, EEOC and/or a FEPA is a party to the settlement agreement between the charging party and the respondent (an employer, union, or other entity covered by EEOC-enforced statutes).

Successful Conciliation
Charge with reasonable cause determination closed after successful conciliation. Successful conciliations result in substantial relief to the charging party and all others adversely affected by the discrimination.

Unsuccessful Conciliation
Charge with reasonable cause determination closed after efforts to conciliate the charge are unsuccessful. Pursuant to Commission policy, the field office will close the charge and review it for litigation consideration. NOTE: Because "reasonable cause" has been found, this is considered a merit resolution.

Withdrawal with Benefits
Charge is withdrawn by charging party upon receipt of desired benefits. The withdrawal may take place after a settlement or after the respondent grants the appropriate benefit to the charging party.


This page was last modified on January 31, 2007.

Resource:http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/define.html