EEOC Highlights Bias Protection, Announces $1.4 Million Settlement

On February 19, 2025, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Acting Chair Andrea Lucas issued a statement re-affirming the agency’s commitment to protecting American workers from anti-American bias in employment. Upon being appointed Acting Chair of the Commission in January 2025 Lucas had outlined her enforcement priorities, which included “protecting American workers from anti-American national origin discrimination.”

In this latest announcement, Lucas connects the EEOC’s role in enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Trump administration’s focus on ending illegal immigration. Lucas explains that “unlawful bias against American workers…is a large-scale problem in multiple industries nationwide.” She explains that many employers have “policies and procedures” where preference is extended to illegal aliens, migrant workers, or legal immigrants like visa holders over American workers. The announcement goes on to caution employers that the following reasons are not permissible reasons to violate Title VII by extending illegal preferences to non-Americans:

1. lower cost labor (due to under the table payment or exploiting rules around visa-holder wage requirements),
2. customer or client preference,
3. hiring a workforce that is perceived as more easily exploited due to their lack of knowledge, access, or use of legal protections, and
4. a biased perception that foreign workers are more productive or have a better work ethic than American workers.

The EEOC explains that one of their goals in enforcing labor and employment laws protecting American workers from national origin discrimination is to shift economic incentives for both employers and employees. The agency anticipates that by focusing on enforcement of national origin discrimination laws, the demand for illegal alien workers may decrease, as will abuse of the country’s legal immigration system.

$1.4 million settlement announced

On the same day, the EEOC also announced a settlement of a lawsuit alleging national origin discrimination against American workers. LeoPalace Guam Corporation, doing business as LeoPalace Resort on the U.S. territory of Guam, has agreed to pay $1,412,500 and provide equitable relief to settle a national origin discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC. The lawsuit alleges that LeoPalace violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment because of national origin. It states that as far back as 2015, non-Japanese employees, including those of American national origin, were given less favorable wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment compared to employees from Japan who held equal or lesser positions.

In addition to the monetary relief to be paid to impacted employees, LeoPalace agreed to hire an external equal employment opportunity monitor who will oversee compliance, training, and review of policies and procedures. This monitor will also oversee the reinstatement of any affected former employees who want to go back to work for LeoPalace. Additionally, the equal employment opportunity monitor will complete periodic audits and report their findings to the EEOC.

While this lawsuit was certainly in progress before the inauguration of President Trump and appointment of Acting Chair Lucas, it speaks to the agency’s current priorities that they chose to release the details of this consent decree along with the announcement from Acting Chair Lucas emphasizing the agency’s commitment to protecting American workers from national origin discrimination.