RACE AND NATIONAL ORIGIN

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McKinley Onua is committed to helping eradicate race and national origin discrimination in the workplace. We work closely with our clients and witnesses to develop winning strategies to uncover covert and insidious discriminatory conduct. Our attorneys have the experience and technique needed to expose and prove discrimination.

Race and national origin discrimination involve treating an applicant or employee unfavorably because of race or place of origin, or because of personal characteristics associated with race or ethnicity, such as accent, hair texture, skin color, facial features, or because of the appearance of having a certain ethnic background (even if they are not).

The Law

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the NYS Human Rights Law and NYC Human Rights Law prohibit discrimination based on race or national origin.
  • It is unlawful to harass a person because of his or her race or national origin. Harassment can include, for example, racial slurs, offensive or derogatory remarks about a person’s race or national origin, accent or ethnicity.
  • Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision such as the victim being fired or demoted.

Protected Individuals

  • Race and national origin discrimination also can involve treating people unfavorably because they are married to (or associated with) a person of a certain race or national origin.

Potential Violators

  • The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.
  • Discrimination can occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are the same race or national origin.

What The Law Protects

  • The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.
  • An employer can only require an employee to speak fluent English if fluency in English is necessary to perform the job effectively. An “English-only rule”, which requires employees to speak only English on the job, is only allowed if it is needed to ensure the safe or efficient operation of the employer’s business and is put in place for nondiscriminatory reasons.
  • An employer may not base an employment decision on an employee’s foreign accent, unless the accent seriously interferes with the employee’s job performance.
  • The law makes it illegal for an employer or other covered entityto use an employment policy or practice that applies to everyone, regardless of race or national origin, if it has a negative impact on people of a certain race or national origin and is not job-related or necessary to the operation of the business.