Archive for the ‘National origin’ Category

Title VII Doesn’t Cover Discrimination Based on Immigration Status

Authored By: Dana E. Stutzman


The Seventh Circuit, which covers Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, recently ruled that a bank’s alleged bias against one of its managers based on the immigration status of the manager’s husband is not actionable under Title VII.  (In other words, Title VII doesn’t cover discrimination based on immigration or citizenship status.)  In affirming the lower court’s prior ruling in favor of the bank, the Seventh Circuit determined that “alienage [i.e., immigration status] is not a protected classification under Title VII.”  Because of this determination, the Court ruled that the manager had no claim of Title VII discrimination against the bank. (more…)

Physician’s Harassment Claim Fails – Only a Personality Conflict

Authored By: Stephen W. Lyman


Complaints of harassment don’t always result in liability for an employer.  Here’s a case in point.

A Syrian born Muslim physician employed at Stroger Hospital in Cook County wrote letters and lodged formal complaints over the years about his treatment by a female coworker who was also a physician in the same department.  The physician complained of the “friction that exists” between him and his coworker, her “domineering attitude,” her “creating a private practice atmosphere” and her “overflowing her clinic with patients.”  Later he wrote another letter stating that he had been “discriminated against,” “disrespected,” and that she “created an atmosphere of confusion and chaos.”  Another letter then asserted that the conduct of the department head in failing to prevent the harassment was a form of “favoritism, harassment and feeling of grandiosity.”  Ultimately he wrote a letter to the president of the medical staff complaining of “frank discrimination” by his coworker and the department head.  (more…)