national origin discrimination

California Fights to Protect Immigrant Workers

April 15, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

One of the many campaign promises made by then-candidate Donald Trump was that he intended to make it very difficult for companies to hire immigrant workers. As president, he has vowed to follow through on this promise. This will hit California harder than most areas in the nation.

There are several reasons for this, and part of the problem is that California relies upon foreign nationals in vastly different sectors of industries. There are obviously the agricultural workers who are sponsored with H2A, which is a visa program for temporary agricultural workers. However, there is also a program that is known as the H1A program that is for skilled workers with at least a university level education that performed work that is difficult for employers to staff with American workers. Continue Reading ›

EEOC Updates Guidelines on National Origin Discrimination

January 31, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

National origin discrimination is not something that tends to get as much media play as, say, sexual harassment or disability discrimination. But in terms of employment law cases, it accounts for more than 1 in 10 of those filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (as of 2015). That figure is even higher in states like California (16.6 percent) where populations are more diverse. It comprises more than 18 percent of EEOC complaints generated in new Mexico.

The prohibition on national origin discrimination is spelled out in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law applicable to all companies with 15 or more employees. It extends to all employees – and applicants – for jobs in the U.S.

National origin discrimination isn’t always obvious, but given its increasing pervasiveness, the EEOC updated its enforcement guidelines, which supersedes the previous compliance manual. These guidelines are meant to serve not only as a road map for the EEOC, but also as a clear warning to companies and a notice to workers of what is acceptable and what is not. Continue Reading ›

Target Resolves Employment Discrimination Litigation with Large Settlement

August 22, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news story from Bring Me The News, big box retailer Target has just agreed to pay $2.8 million to settle a complaint by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). It was alleged the screening process for job applicants the retailer used was discriminatory.

The money collected as part of the settlement agreement will be given to the roughly 3,000 candidates who were allegedly rejected for higher-level positions with the retailer. The reason these applicants were rejected, according to EEOC, is because the test instruments utilized in the screening process were allegedly discriminatory against African Americans, Asians and women. EEOC said several of these tests were not even job-related. More specifically, it was not that there was one thing in these tests you point to and say was discriminatory, but when the results are reviewed in the context of the gender, ethnicity and national origin of the applicants, it was clear to EEOC that there was a discriminatory impact. Continue Reading ›

Work Permits for Undocumented Farm Workers in California

July 7, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Undocumented workers and their right to enter the country, remain in the country, and work here have become a major topic for the candidates for the Republican nomination for the upcoming presidential election. By now, everyone has heard Donald Trump’s feelings on the Mexican immigrants who enter this country each year, and we have heard the opposition to his comments and also from his supporters.

Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings on issues of immigration and undocumented workers, there can be no question that California is very much in the middle of this issue, based upon the number of foreign born workers living in the state. Many of these individuals are working on the many farms throughout our state. According to a recent news article from the Los Angeles Times, California legislators are working on a measure that would specifically allow work permits to be issued to farm workers who are not legally in this country. Continue Reading ›

California Labor Law to Require Anti-Bullying Training

June 29, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

Bullying has become recognized as a major problem in our society. Most people think of bullying in terms of schools and teenagers, but bullying is a serious problem that happens in many different settings, including during the course of employment.

According to a recent news article form The Press Enterprise, a new California law requires anti-bullying training for employee supervisors. Employers are already required to undergo mandatory sexual harassment avoidance training, but the new law will add anti-bullying training to the existing program. Continue Reading ›

Term “Alien” to be removed from California Labor Code

May 26, 2015 | by Nassiri Law

According to a recent news article from the USC Guardian, State Senator Tony Mendoza introduced Senate Bill SB 432 earlier this year and the senate has just approved his bill. SB 432 was drafted to the remove the term “alien” from the California Labor Code.

In the existing form of the state labor code, the term alien is used to denote any person who is not a citizen of the United States or a United States national. The term alien to mean a person who is not a US citizen has long history of use in the legal documents of the United States and in common usage. With respect to the legal documents, the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 can be used as an example. This act was used to grant authority to the federal government to deport any non-citizens it determined were dangerous to the nation. Other statutes use the terms illegal and unauthorized alien.

In speaking about why he felt the need to create this piece of legislation, Mendoza stated he feels the term alien holds a negative connotation, and there is no appropriate place for it in modern laws and statutes. Mendoza further argues the term alien has been a derogatory term in common usage, especially in the context of speaking about illegal aliens. Continue Reading ›

Settlement in Foreign-Born Worker Discrimination Lawsuit

November 27, 2014 | by Nassiri Law

Worker discrimination comes in many forms, including adverse employment action, disparate treatment, and other illegal and unlawful employer activities. In a recent case, the Justice Department has announced that it reached a settlement with a San Francisco bakery involving discrimination against foreign-born workers. According to the compliant, the bakery was in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by improperly rejecting a worker’s valid work authorization documents. The case was investigated by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices.

In accordance with the settlement agreement, the baker will pay $26,000 in back pay and additional compensation to the employee who suffered damages as a result of the discrimination. In addition to the financial compensation owed to the individual employee, the company has agreed to modify its hiring practices and has agreed to external monitoring of those practices for the next two years. Immigrants and other non-native workers may face a number of challenges in the workplace, but every worker in the U.S. has rights and can take legal action—even without citizenship. Employers are prohibited from making assumption about the validity of employment documents based on stereotypes and unfounded assumptions.

Employers who want to insulate themselves against civil rights violations can inquire about how to review and accept I-9 documentation to prevent discrimination investigations and penalties. The Immigration and Nationality Act protects foreign workers from discrimination in the workplace. These laws prevent employers from placing additional burdens on applicants who are authorized to work because of their national origin or citizenship status. The law also protects workers from discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment of employees.