Human Resource Blog

Michigan Age and National Origin Discrimination

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We have had a complaint from one of our customers that we have been discriminating against workers from other countries because we only have Americans (mostly students) to work in our Michigan coffee shop. We have found that students work the hardest and command the best rates, but want to know if it is illegal to only hire students or to only hire Americans?

Yes, it is illegal if you have a policy or practice of only hiring students or only hiring Americans to work for you. According to Title VII, employers are prohibited from discriminatory hiring and employment practices. As such, you are legally not allowed to look at national origin, race, age, gender, or religious affiliations when you hire your employees. You may also not discriminate against these employees after they are under your employ.

First, let us address the issue of national origin discrimination. According to Title VII, national origin discrimination is any behavior that results in the less favorable treatment of one person over another based on that one person’s national origin. Here are situations that qualify as national origin discrimination:

1. You may not discriminate against a person from another ethnic group, such as a Hispanic or an Arab.
2. You may not discriminate against someone based on his or her physical, linguistic or cultural characteristics that are attributed to a particular ethnic group. For example, you may not discriminate against someone for wearing a sari to work if she is of Indian heritage.
3. It is also important to be aware that sometimes employers will discriminate against a person because the employer believes that the person is a member of a particular ethnic group. If you have an employee or potential employee that appears to be of a particular ethnic group, even if he or she is not, you may not discriminate against that employee, just as you would not discriminate against him or her if he or she truly was part of that ethnic group.

Now, when it comes to the fact that you wish to hire students, you may have a position that is suited for the lifestyle and preferences of many students, but you must open your employment opportunities to everyone. If you wish to hire someone that has the stereotypical characteristics of a student (such as a late-night lifestyle or high-energy attitude), then you should state in your job description that you would like someone with those particular characteristics. You may not, however, state that you would like to hire only students.  CB