Question

1.Which, if any, of the following scenarios would support an employee’s claim of dis- crimination on the basis of national origin?

a. Applicant with a speech impediment is unable to pronounce the letter “r.” The

applicant therefore often has difficulty being understood when speaking and is

denied a position.

b. The owner of a manufacturing facility staffed completely by Mexicans refuses employment to a white American manager because the owner is concerned that the Mexicans will only consent to supervision by and receive direction from another Mexican.

c. An Indian restaurant seeks to fill a server position. The advertisement requests applications from qualified individuals of Indian descent to add to the authenticity of the restaurant. In the past, the restaurant found that its business declined when it used Caucasian servers because the atmosphere of the restaurant suffered. An Italian

applies for the position and is denied employment.

d. A company advertises for Japanese-trained managers, because the employer has found that they are more likely to remain at the company for an extended time, to be loyal and devoted to the firm, and to react well to direction and criticism. An American applies for the position and is denied employment in favor of an equally qualified Japanese-trained applicant, who happens to also be Japanese.

Answer 1

Based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , an employer cannot discriminate against employees based on the national origin of the employee.The law requires one to present the following prima facie elements:

(1) the employee is a member of a protected class,

(2) that he is qualified for the relevant position,

(3) that there was an adverse employment action, and

(4) that some evidence of record supports the inference of improper motivation.

Case A: As per law, "An employer may not base an employment decision on an employee's foreign accent, unless the accent seriously interferes with the employee's job performance." Thus if this condition interferes or affects business adversely, one can be denied employment and hence may not be covered under the discrimination basis national origin clause.

Case B: Refusing to hire someone because customers or co-workers may be "uncomfortable" with that person's national origin is just as illegal as refusing to hire that person because of religion or national origin in the first place.

Case C:  If an employer states the necessity of employing a certain category because it being essential for the business, then it is not covered under discrimination basis national origin. For example, if a movie script demands the Afro-American character, one cannot contest it. Similarly, if the theme of the restaurant demands an Indian, the employer has the right to reject employment to a Caucasian/Italian server.

Case D: This is a direct case of discrimination based on national origin. A company cannot deny employment because it believes that people of one particular origin perform better , loyal or devote better to the company