Accent Discrimination

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects Americans from workplace discrimination based on gender, race, religion, or national origin. Because an individual’s accent is a component of their national origin, it is illegal to discriminate against an employee based on their accent. Employment decisions based on an employee’s accent are only legally admissible if their accent can be shown to significantly impair their ability to perform job duties.

If you are a federal employee and you feel that you have been the victim of accent discrimination, you may be entitled to compensation. Contact the federal discrimination lawyers of the Vaughn Law Firm at 877-615-9495 today to learn more about your rights under the law.

When Accent Discrimination is Acceptable

Generally speaking, employment decisions cannot be based on an employee’s accent, which is largely beyond an individual’s control. However, in specific cases, it is acceptable to base decisions regarding employment on an employee’s ability to communicate, which can be affected by their accent. The following guidelines explain when accent discrimination is acceptable:

• When the employee’s accent is pronounced enough to affect job performance
• When the employee’s accent can be shown to have interfered with essential job duties

These conditions are fairly strict in application. Even if an employee’s accent might interfere with some aspects of their job, employment decisions cannot be made on this basis if the aspects are not essential to the job.

Contact Us

If you are a federal employee who has suffered from accent discrimination, contact the federal discrimination attorneys of the Vaughn Law Firm at 877-615-9495 today to discuss your case with an experienced employee advocate.