EEOC to Crack Down on Hiring of Illegal Aliens, Migrant Workers and Visa Holders Under National Origin Discrimination Theory
In a recent press release, EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas stated that employers with policies and practices preferring illegal aliens, migrant workers and visa holders over American workers are violating Title VII’s protection from discrimination on the basis of national origin. According to Lucas, ending this type of illegal discrimination will decrease the demand for illegal alien workers and the abuse of the legal immigration system. The EEOC, in collaboration with other agencies like the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Labor, will bring more investigations and enforcement actions into claims of national origin discrimination in hiring.
Acting Chair Lucas also stated the EEOC is committed to educating employers and employees to understand that Title VII protections against national origin discrimination apply to all workers and that while the national origin nondiscrimination requirement means employers cannot prefer American workers and disfavor non-Americans, it equally means that employers cannot prefer non-American workers and disfavor Americans.
According to the release, none of the often-cited reasons for hiring non-American workers are permissible reasons to violate Title VII’s national origin nondiscrimination provision. These impermissible reasons for preferring non-American workers often include the fact that non-American workers may require lower labor costs, customers or clients prefer non-American workers, and the biased perceptions that foreign workers have a better work ethic than American workers or are more easily exploited than American workers.
Employee hiring practices are likely to be reviewed with more scrutiny under the Trump Administration. Accordingly, employers should be sure their policies practices are compliant with federal discrimination laws. We understand recent changes in the labor and employment area are overwhelming and we will continue to provide updates and be available for questions.
