EEOC Bolsters Guidance on National Origin Discrimination

By Al Vreeland - Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C.

December 2, 2025

As we reported in October, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission finally has a quorum and therefore can begin taking official action.  Wasting no time, the Commission recently issued guidance (referred to as “technical assistance”) on what it considers to be illegal national origin discrimination – with a particular emphasis on discrimination against American workers.

The guidance defines national origin discrimination as “treating employees or applicants unfavorably or favorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background.”  The guidance goes on to offer examples of unlawful national origin discrimination:

•    Posting job advertisements which indicate a preference for applicants from certain countries.
•    Treating certain nationalities less favorably, such as terminating American workers who are on the “bench” between job assignments at a much higher rate over employees who are visa guest worker or making it more difficult for applicants from one national origin to apply for positions with a more onerous application process.
•    Harassing workers because of their nationality, such as with unwelcome remarks or abusive conduct because of their national origin.
•    Retaliating against an employee for making a complaint about national origin discrimination.

The technical assistance also outlined reasons which would not justify a preference for foreign workers over American workers:

•    Customer preference
•    Lower cost of labor
•    Beliefs that workers of certain nationalities are more productive or have a stronger work ethic

In conjunction with the guidance, the Commission also launched a new web page explaining what conduct it would consider illegal and providing guidance on how to file a Charge of Discrimination. Although the technical assistance does not change the existing law, it reflects the Commission’s intent to emphasize national origin claims by American workers

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