To help prove national origin discrimination under Title VII, one must demonstrate unfavorable treatment because of their actual or perceived birthplace, ancestry, and cultural or linguistic characteristics related to an ethnic group.

Direct evidence of this discrimination can include verbal or written statements by witnesses that acknowledge your employer treated you unfavorably because of your national origin. An example of direct evidence is when a boss says he never promotes employees from a certain ethnic group because of a stereotype.

More commonly, proof is in the form of indirect or circumstantial evidence, and an individual must show facts that discrimination occurred. For example, if an individual was fired for poor performance after their boss learned their ethnicity but they previously received excellent performance reviews, it is reasonable to infer discrimination.

Either way, an employee or job applicant should record and save details of all inappropriate comments or behaviors at work. That way, they have concrete examples should they decide to make a discrimination claim.