The Popular Government article, Emerging Issues: National Origin - Discrimination in Employment by Joanna

Carey Smith, outlines the relevant federal and state laws that prohibit employment discrimination of national origin
in the US workforce. Although national origin and other forms of employment discrimination (race, color, religion,
gender) are disturbingly prevalent in todays society, there appears to be an equally disturbing tendency for citizens to
abuse the protection afforded by the law to compensate for inefficiency and ineffectiveness in the workplace.
According to the EEOC, the number of employment discrimination cases in the US has been on the rise from
approximately 80K cases in 1997 to more than 99K cases in 2012. I n Texas Politics Today, by William Maxwell,
Ernest Crain and Adolfo Santos, the authors state that the US is considered the most litigious society in the
world.with approximately one-quarter of the worlds lawyers.

Employment discrimination laws, however, are a crucial shield against the ignorance and narrow-mindedness of
those that refuse to accept the basic principal on which the United States was founded: We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness (Declaration of Independence) , and the 14
th

Amendment, No State shalldeny any person the equal protection of the laws. Although Title VI I , ADA, GI NA,
Section 1981 and others set the stage for protection, they still prove limited in their coverage. The federal government
does not provide protection for LGBTQ employees, and their protection is dependent on state laws. This will prove to
be a rapidly changing area of employment law, as media attention on gay marriage rights and litigation will continue
to apply pressure on our federal court system.

Lenovo, a large global personal technology company in the triangle, sets a high bar for racial and national origin
discrimation best practice. With more than 54,000 employees located in over 160 countries, they are a true global
company that embraces diversity and respects the value that can be derived from a disparate workforce. Lenovo is a
uniquely polycentric business, with roots in the East and West and leaders located all over the world. To ensure
employees follow this mantra, Lenovo has established the following:
Yearly required diversity /ethics training for all employees
Diversity Committee offers special monthly programs/events for all employees
Executive Champion Yolanda Conyers VP, Cultural Integration and Diversity
Clear Established Path for Complaints - Onsite Ombudsmen/HR/Legal
The Lenovo Way a cultural initiative that serves as a common langauge to bind all employees

As Lenovo quickly expands its leadership as the #1 PC manufacturer in the world, it is clear that diversity and
equality serve as key drivers to its success. The long term hope is for individuals and organizations to fully embrace
this way of thinking, reducing or elminating the need for legal recourse.

NC Discrimination Laws
MBA546 Homework Assignment #1
Amy Milslagle