Inside the Exclusive: The EEOC’s New Enforcement Priorities, Part 1—National Origin Discrimination

In part one of this podcast series recorded at our recent Corporate Labor and Employment Counsel Exclusive® seminar, Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham), Tae Phillips (shareholder, Birmingham), and Jim Paul (shareholder, St. Louis/Tampa) discuss the EEOC’s new enforcement priorities, with a particular focus on national origin discrimination and the agency’s increased emphasis on protecting workers from anti-American bias. Tae (who is co-chair of the firm’s Drug Testing Practice Group) and Scott (who chairs the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group) review recent statements from the EEOC’s acting chair, highlight the legal definitions and practical implications of national origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and share observations about a rise in related EEOC charges. The conversation also touches on the importance for employers to coordinate labor, employment, and immigration practices in light of these evolving enforcement trends.