| Although job discrimination on the basis of national | | | | group, but those who associate with or are |
| origin rarely receives as much media coverage as | | | | connected to members of that group, or those |
| highly publicized and politicized race or gender | | | | who subscribe to belief systems or religions which |
| discrimination cases, it is still a serious problem | | | | are typically linked to a certain group. |
| which demands our attention. Under Title VII of | | | | Linguistics |
| the Civil Rights Act of 1964, mistreatment of or | | | | Characteristics of an individual's linguistic capabilities |
| prejudicial behavior towards an individual on the | | | | often factor into national origin discrimination. |
| basis of his or her national origin by an employer | | | | Accents, which are easily identifiable with a |
| is prohibited. | | | | particular country or region of the world, are |
| Unfortunately, few people really understand what | | | | some of the most obvious catalysts for |
| the term "national origin" means. The concept can | | | | discrimination. |
| be loosely described as the aggregate whole | | | | An employer seeking to eliminate foreigners (or |
| composed of: | | | | immigrants) from his workforce might, for |
| - Ancestry | | | | example, institute an English-only policy in the |
| - Ethnicity | | | | workplace. Employees or prospective employees |
| - Place of birth | | | | who speak with heavy accents - or whose English |
| - Cultural characteristics | | | | is simply not quite as fluent - would be unable to |
| - Regional or cultural beliefs | | | | keep or gain jobs at that company. |
| - Linguistic characteristics | | | | That is not to say, however, that all linguistic |
| Discrimination based on these factors can take | | | | requirements are prohibited by Title VII or other |
| many forms, both direct and indirect. An | | | | federal employment laws. For example, a |
| employer's discriminatory policy may be as explicit | | | | company may lawfully institute an English-only |
| and blatant as barring all Mexican immigrants from | | | | policy for reasons of safety or coordination, so |
| employment or as subtle as using a ban on | | | | long as the policy is narrowly tailored to apply only |
| wearing hats or headpieces as a way to exclude | | | | to emergency situations in which speaking one |
| certain groups. It may also choose to discriminate | | | | language would promote the safety of everyone |
| not only against members of a particular ethnic | | | | involved. |