Many workplaces have employees from all different walks of life working together to strengthen a business. Employees should feel safe at their jobs and expect equal treatment regardless of where they are from or what they believe. Unfortunately, some workers face discriminatory treatment at their workplaces just because of their real or even their perceived national origin.

If you believe your employer or prospective employer mistreated you because of your national origin, contact a knowledgeable workplace discrimination attorney. A Sacramento national origin discrimination lawyer at Erkel Law, P.C. can help you seek justice in a civil lawsuit.

Comparing National Origin Discrimination to Racial Discrimination

Although discrimination based on national origin and race appears to be similar, they are not the same. Racial discrimination typically involves mistreatment at work or in the job application process due to a person’s physical qualities. Someone could face racial discrimination based on their skin color, even if they were born in this country. National origin discrimination happens when a worker receives poor treatment because of where they are from or where someone believes they are from. The unfavorable treatment can occur because of a person’s real or perceived home country, ancestry, culture, manner of speech, or accent.

Discriminatory treatment based on either race or national origin is illegal. If someone believes they were mistreated at work or an employer has denied them a job because of their national origin, a local lawyer from Sacramento can help them fight back.

Types of Discriminatory Treatment Based on an Employee’s National Origin

Workers and job applicants can face different types of unfair treatment due to their national origin or the national origin of something or someone they associate with.

Affiliation with an Ethnic Group

Employers and prospective employers cannot discriminate against employees or job applicants because they are affiliated with a certain ethnic group. For instance, if an employee wears clothing traditionally associated with one ethnic group, such as a sari, hijab, or yarmulke, the employer cannot treat them unfairly by paying them less than someone who does not wear traditional or ethnic clothing. If a supervisor verbally harasses an employee because they have an accent that the employer associates with a foreign country, the supervisor could create a hostile working environment for that employee. If workers do not receive preferential treatment, such as a pay raise or promotion, because they do not belong to the same ethnic group as their boss or manager, they could sue for workplace discrimination.

Perception

National origin discrimination can also involve mistreatment based on perceived heritages or ethnic groups. An attorney from Sacramento at Erkel Law, P.C. can help a worker sue for national origin discrimination even if the employer is wrong about the employee’s particular ethnic group. For instance, if a supervisor consistently refuses to promote someone because the employer thinks the worker is from the Middle East even though they are not, that individual might be able to pursue a national origin discrimination lawsuit.

Association

Employers cannot discriminate against workers because of who they associate with. For instance, an employer cannot fire someone because the employer suddenly finds out that a worker’s husband is Jewish when they see the husband wearing a yarmulke.

A skilled local lawyer knows how to conduct detailed investigations to find evidence of discriminatory treatment based on a worker’s location.

Talk to an Attorney in Sacramento About National Origin Discrimination

People should be able to work together and receive the same job opportunities, regardless of where they are from, how they dress, or who they associate with. Mistreatment based on your national origin is illegal under state and federal law.

Call a Sacramento national origin discrimination lawyer at Erkel Law, P.C. today to discuss the details of what happened to you.

 

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