It Can Pay to Challenge Assumptions

By J. Robert Brame

Social critics routinely criticize Western culture as being racist, sexist, xenophobic, and more recently, ageist and "lookist," the latter being the widely asserted preference within our society for the more attractive over the less attractive, especially regarding women. Some of these "problems," including racism, xenophobia, and ageism, have been enshrined in legislative findings, and others such as lookism are beginning to work their way into agency regulations or enforcement guides.

Rather than accept these tendencies, it sometimes pays to examine underlying assumptions (especially those that have not yet become law). Two recent news reports raise the question of whether apparent discriminations are factual or whether other, less invidious factors are at work.

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National Origin Discrimination
and  English-Only Rules

By Troy D. Thompson

In fiscal year (FY) 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 11,134 charges involving claims of national origin discrimination -- an approximate 57 percent increase since 1999. Although the EEOC has not yet disclosed its statistics for FY 2010, all indications are that these claims continue to rise.

Given that trend, along with increased attention the EEOC has directed toward national origin discrimination claims, it's important to consider measures you may take now to avoid and/or prepare to successfully defend against these claims in the future. This article briefly discusses the legal framework relating to national origin discrimination claims under federal law and provides a few suggestions on how you can minimize your risk of liability.

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EEOC Complaints Reach All-Time High

The EEOC recently released its statistical data on fiscal year 2010 filings. The data indicated that workplace discrimination complaints against private sector firms reached an all-time high in 2010.

The EEOC reported that filings with the federal agency nationwide totaled 99,922 during fiscal year 2010, which ended on September 30, 2010. That was a seven percent increase over fiscal year 2009. The Commission reported that in fiscal year 2010, it received more employment discrimination complaints than any other year in the 45-year history of the commission. The Commission stated that the nearly 100,000 complaints it received in fiscal year 2010 resulted in over $400 million in payments from employers.

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