Human Resource Blog

Discrimination Based on Accent

	Hiring and Staffing
Complete Business Forms Kit CD Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Employment Application Long Form Substance Testing Consent Form Pre-Employment Reference and Background Check Employment Offer/Acknowledgment Receipt of Employee Handbook New Hire Survey

	HR Management
Confidential Employee Folder Confidential Employee Medical Folder Job File Worksheet Folder Daily EEO Applicant Flow Log Workplace Information Sheets Request to Inspect Personnel Files

	Labor Laws
Complete State & Federal Labor Law Posters 1 Year Compliance Protection Plan State ONLY Labor Law Posters Federal Labor Law Posters

Is it illegal to discriminate against a potential employee that has some language characteristics (an accent?)

Yes. It is illegal to discriminate against employees based on their nations of origin. According to Title VII, which is a federal document in place that was instituted in order to guarantee equal rights for all employees and potential employees when it comes to work places, discrimination against a person based on their country of origin is illegal. Title VII also prohibits discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation, religion, the color of their skin, and other distinguishing characteristics.

Discrimination is illegal because the government wants to guarantee that all U.S. citizens and workers tha are legally able to work in the U.S. have access to the same benefits and opportunities, regardless of the differences that they may have. There has been added attention to the national orientation clause within Title VII since September 11, 2001.

According to Title VII, it is illegal to discriminate against a person based on their national original according to the following characteristics:

1.A person’s ethnicity or place within an ethnic group. For example, you may not discriminate against a Hispanic or Arab.

2.A persons physical traits, linguistic traits (such as their language or accent), or a person’s cultural traits that are associated with a national origin group. For example, if you have an employee that dresses a certain way because of their national origin, then you may not discriminate against that employee’s dress or force him or her to dress differently.

3.You also cannot discriminate against a person if you think he or she is associated with a particular ethnicity or national origin. Even if they appear to be but are not, discriminating, teasing, or accusing the person of being a particular ethnicity can constitute a hostile work environment that can be bad for your company in court.

In all cases, remember to treat all employees fairly, regardless of their backgrounds or distinguishing characteristics.