EEOC Update: Anti-American Discrimination

By Stephanie Dorning, JD, Employment Law Counsel
Published December 2, 2025

On November 19, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new fact sheet reaffirming the Agency’s long-standing stance against discrimination targeting American workers. While many of the points should be familiar to employers, the document serves as a good reminder that discrimination based on national origin is always illegal.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants or employees based upon their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In the context of national origin, employers cannot treat employees differently because of their ancestry or country of origin. This includes American-born workers.

The fact sheet highlights four areas where anti-American national origin discrimination may occur:

• Job Advertisements: Employers cannot indicate a preference for employees from a particular country or with a particular visa status. For example, job postings encouraging applicants with work visas, such as H-1B visa holders, are unlawful.
• Disparate Treatment: Employers cannot implement policies that have a discriminatory effect against groups of employees or applicants. This may include “benching” American workers at a higher rate than guest workers or requiring American applicants to undergo a more rigorous screening process. 
• Harassment: Harassing behavior targeting an employee because of their national origin may constitute illegal harassment. This applies to all employees, including those who are American born. Claims involving harassment directed at American employees should be handled the same way as any other harassment or discrimination claim. 
• Retaliation: Employees are protected from retaliation for engaging in a protected activity, such as reporting harassment or discrimination based on national origin.

While the fact sheet focuses on anti-American discrimination within the workplace, this is not a new policy. National origin protections have always applied to American-born workers as well as workers from any other background.

Remember, discrimination based on a protected characteristic is always illegal, regardless of whether an employee belongs to a majority group or a historically marginalized group. Employment decisions should always be based on an individual’s qualifications and job-related abilities, rather than their race, sex, national origin, or any other protected characteristic.  

As always, HR Source members with further questions can reach out to us via the HR Hotline Online or at 800-448-4584. And don’t forget to complete your yearly anti-harassment and discrimination prevention training by December 31! If your organization still needs to schedule training, contact our team for help.