NATIONAL ORIGIN DISCRIMINATION

Where you or your family came from has no bearing on your ability to do your job. Yet employers continue to discriminate against workers based on their national origin — targeting employees because of their country of birth, ancestry, ethnicity, accent, or perceived foreignness. Federal and state laws make national origin discrimination illegal in all aspects of employment, and workers who experience this form of discrimination have the right to take legal action. At Klie Law Offices, our employment law attorneys represent workers throughout West Virginia and Ohio who have been subjected to national origin discrimination and help them hold their employers accountable.

We handle national origin discrimination cases from our offices in Buckhannon, Clarksburg, Morgantown, Parkersburg, and Canton, Ohio.

National origin discrimination frequently intersects with other forms of illegal conduct. Race discrimination claims may overlap when the discrimination targets both an employee's ethnicity and racial identity. Religious discrimination claims arise when the employee's national origin is associated with a particular religion — for example, discrimination against a Middle Eastern employee that is motivated by anti-Muslim bias. Retaliation claims arise when the employer punishes an employee for complaining about national origin discrimination. And wrongful termination claims are available when the discrimination results in job loss.

Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4112 prohibits national origin discrimination and applies to employers with four or more employees, providing broader coverage than federal law. Ohio courts have recognized national origin discrimination claims across a wide range of scenarios, including language-based discrimination, harassment, and disparate treatment in hiring and promotion. Our Canton office attorneys are experienced in pursuing national origin discrimination claims under Ohio law, where Canton's diverse community means these cases arise with some regularity.

Employees who prevail in national origin discrimination cases may recover back pay and lost benefits, front pay or reinstatement, compensatory damages for emotional distress and mental anguish, punitive damages for egregious or malicious employer conduct, and attorney's fees and litigation costs. The West Virginia Human Rights Act provides uncapped damages, while federal Title VII claims are subject to statutory caps based on employer size. Pursuing claims under both federal and state law maximizes the available recovery.

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If you believe you have experienced national origin discrimination, document everything. Record any comments, slurs, or derogatory statements about your national origin, accent, or ethnicity — noting dates, times, who said what, and any witnesses. Save emails, text messages, or written communications that reflect discriminatory attitudes. Keep records of how the employer has treated similarly situated employees of different national origins. If you were denied a promotion, a raise, or a favorable assignment, note who received it instead and their national origin. And if you reported the discrimination internally, keep copies of your complaints and the employer's responses.

If your employer has fired, demoted, harassed, or otherwise discriminated against you because of your national origin, ethnicity, or ancestry, contact Klie Law Offices for a free case evaluation, or schedule an appointment online. We serve clients from our offices in Buckhannon, Clarksburg, Morgantown, and Parkersburg in West Virginia, and Canton in Ohio.