EEOC Focuses on National Origin Discrimination Against Americans

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has turned its attention to concerns about national origin discrimination against Americans, releasing a technical document that reiterates the protections of Title VII for those born in the United States.

In “Discrimination Against American Workers is Against the Law,” the agency explained that Title VII protects employees or applicants from discrimination based on national origin, including for those born in the United States.

The document provided examples of different forms of such discrimination, including job advertisements—if an employer stated that it preferred or required applicants from a different country or with a particular visa status, such as “H-1B preferred” or “H-1B only.”

Disparate treatment against those born in the U.S. can also run afoul of Title VII, the EEOC said, such as a company terminating American workers who are on the “bench” between job assignments at a much higher rate than employees who are visa guest workers or an employer making it more difficult for applicants from one national origin to apply for positions. The agency used the example of subjecting U.S. workers to more laborious application methods than H-1B visa holders during the PERM labor certification process.

Harassment and retaliation against workers based on national origin are also prohibited, including unwelcome remarks or conduct based on national origin.

The EEOC also noted that “common business reasons” used to justify national origin discrimination—including lower cost of labor, customer or client preference or beliefs that workers from one or more national origin groups are “more productive” or possess a better work ethic than another national origin group—do not excuse an employer’s decision to hire foreign workers over American workers.

To read the EEOC document, click .

Why it matters: The EEOC’s focus on national origin discrimination was signaled earlier this year by Chair Andrea Lucas, who stated in a February 2025 press release that “[u]nlawful bias against American workers, in violation of Title VII, is a large-scale problem in multiple industries nationwide,” putting employers on notice that, “if employment practices are abusing our legal immigration system via illegal preferences against American workers, you must stop.” She further wrote that “[t]he law is clear: the prohibition on national origin discrimination applies to any national origin group, including discrimination against American workers in favor of foreign workers,” and that “[t]he EEOC is going to rigorously enforce the law to protect American workers from national origin discrimination.”