Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits Increase As Companies Employ "Ethnically Diverse Labor Force"; Hotel Worker Mocked For His "Accent" Awarded $500,000 Settlement

Earlier this year, an Iraqi hotel worker in Phoenix won a $500,000 settlement from the Four Points Sheraton. He claimed his co-workers mocked his accent and called him derogatory names. According to the EEOC, the worker’s managers didn’t take his complaints seriously, which made his workplace situation intolerable.

Workplace discrimination complaints based on national origin, including those involving language ability, increased by 76 percent from 1997 to 2011, according to the EEOC. The agency says the trend reflects a more ethnically diverse labor force.

Civil rights advocates say workplaces have become more hostile toward workers who don’t speak perfect English.

“There’s definitely a climate of fear that’s bad for everyone,” John Mejia, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told Insurance Journal.

Some workers have won large settlements in accent-related lawsuits.

For more:  http://www.insidecounsel.com/2012/12/26/accent-related-discrimination-suits-on-the-rise-sa