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Discrimination Dismissal Lawyer

A Discrimination Termination Prejudice Lawyer at the Pursley Law Firm will review the details of your case to determine whether you were wrongfully terminated or otherwise discriminated against by an employer. The Pursley Law Firm has the ability to pursue claims for discrimination victims all over Texas; including the cities of Dallas, Houston, Austin, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and El Paso. Employment discrimination is all too common these days; so an experienced Discrimination Employment lawyer is ready to discuss your case with you and how he can best assist you.

Discrimination because of national origin or citizenship in any employment situation, whether hiring, promoting, or firing is unlawful in Texas. The law provides significant protection to an applicant or employee who has suffered an adverse employment decision based on a prohibited factor if the claimant can prove the employer’s actions. An employer discriminates based upon national origin in violation of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) when it treats a job applicant or employee differently from other applicants and employees (in terms of hiring, firing, recruiting, or referring that individual for employment)because of that individual’s place of origin, the origin of his or her ancestors, or the physical, cultural, or linguistic characteristics of a particular nationality. Most cases resulting in employer liability involve situations in which the employer has required minority employees to present more or different documents than non-minorities to prove employment authorization.For example, a Maryland company, will pay a six figure amount in settlement of a discrimination complaint with the Justice Department, as a result of requiring non-U.S. citizens to present CIS-issued documents while allowing U.S. citizens to present any acceptable document on the I-9.

When an employer rejects a job applicant, fires an employee, or retaliates against an employee because of his or her citizenship or immigration status, an employer is unlawfully discriminating against the individual based upon citizenship status. Citizenship discrimination typically results when an employer establishes separate hiring policies for U.S. citizens and non-citizens, or applies a “citizens only” hiring practice. Given that the TCHRA defines protected individuals to include several categories of non-citizens, such policies and practices are impermissible. Anti-discrimination provisions rigidly apply to all private employers as well.

This prohibition against citizenship discrimination applies equally to citizens. An employer cannot discriminate against a U.S. citizen by preferring foreign-born workers. The Justice Department has started to aggressively pursue a new type of citizenship discrimination. The Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices has settled two cases brought against a company for refusing to hire a qualified U.S. worker because the company preferred to hire a non-U.S. citizen for whom it had petitioned for permanent labor certification and was seeking a visa. In both cases, the company agreed to pay the U.S. citizen $10,000 or more in back pay to settle the citizenship complaint. In addition, the company was required to pay civil penalties, provide training to its personnel involved in hiring, and post notices regarding worker protections against discrimination. Thus, any preferential treatment based on citizenship status, unless mandated by law, is unjustified and prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

There have been some recent developments in the area of citizenship discrimination within the past few years through administrative decisions. The claimant must be able to prove that the employer was aware of a protected characteristic and discriminated on the basis of it. An employer can to have a legitimate nondiscriminatory policy and therefore not violate citizenship status discrimination. For example, if the employer consistently applied an honesty policy of terminating employees who fraudulently use social security numbers or otherwise fail to provide truthful information required on all forms and documents. The firing of an employee based upon this practice is not citizenship status discrimination.

An employer may discriminate based on citizenship statusif such discrimination is (i) required to comply with a law, regulation, or Executive Order, (ii) required by a federal, state, or local government contract, or (iii) determined by the Attorney General to be essential for an employer to do business with an agency or department of the federal, state, or local government. For example, for national security reasons, employment in some positions with defense contractors requires citizenship status. Before relying on this exception, however, the employer must confirm that the citizenship requirement is mandated by law. A good faith belief that non-citizens would be a security risk in performing duties associated with a U.S. government contract will not protect the employer from liability where the citizenship requirement is not mandated by law.

Discrimination because of national origin or citizenship is illegal and if believe you have been a victim of wrongful termination or had employment prohibited in some other way because of your this, then you should seek the assistance of an employment attorney who can review the details of your situation and offer guidance on the appropriate action to take.

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