Update Applicable to:	Effective Date
All Employers with 15 or More Employees	See Details Below

What happened?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects all workers, including Americans from national origin discrimination which applies to most private employers with 15+ employees. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) bars policies that limit, segregate, or classify employees in ways that reduce opportunities based on national origin. On November 19, 2025, the EEOC issued a one-page technical assistance document to include language “Discrimination Against American Workers Is Against the Law.” There was no other change to existing law.

Overview

Why this matters: Complying with the EEOC’s updated national origin discrimination materials is essential for employers. Title VII bars national origin discrimination across all employment decisions, including hiring, pay, job assignments, promotions, training, and benefits. The guidance highlights common risk areas—such as discriminatory job ads, disparate treatment, harassment, and retaliation—so employers can prevent practices that would otherwise be unlawful.

Actions Steps for Compliance

• Audit job postings/recruiter scripts; remove visa status or national origin preferences.
• Standardize application and selection processes (including PERM) for equal access.
• Review pay for similarly situated roles; document neutral, job-related criteria.
• Train managers/recruiters on harassment and anti‑retaliation; monitor for disparate treatment.
• Coordinate HR, immigration, and compliance teams to avoid national origin disparities.
• Carefully examine business reasons for hiring decisions based on national origin.

Additional Information

What the EEOC released

• Updated National Origin Discrimination landing page with plain language guidance.
• Reinforcement existing in Title VII protections; the 2016 guidance remains in effect.

What to Avoid

• Job ads preferring a country or visa status (e.g., “H‑1B preferred/only”).

• Disparate treatment in hiring, firing, pay, assignments, promotions, training, benefits.
  • Examples: higher bench terminations of Americans; tougher PERM application steps for U.S. workers.

• Pay discrimination (e.g., paying visa guest workers less or using different pay standards).

• Retaliation against those who oppose discrimination, participate in investigations, or file EEOC charges.

Enforcement & coordination from the EEOC

• Multi‑agency action and data sharing to take place among EEOC, DOJ (IER), and DOL (WHD/visa programs).
• EEOC signals increased scrutiny of actions that favor—or appear to favor—non-Americans.

Source References

• EEOC National Origin Discrimination – Press Release (11-19-25)
• EEOC – Discrimination Against American Workers Is Against The Law

Resources

• EEOC – National Origin Discrimination

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