War puts national origin bias in the spotlight.

After 9/11, workplace harassment of Muslims increased in the United States. During COVID, the EEOC reported a spike in discrimination against workers of Asian descent.

Now legal experts are warning that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is causing some Russian-American employees in this country--and even simply employees with Eastern European accents--to be harassed and discriminated against based on their national origin.

Two examples, according to the Seyfarth Shaw law firm:

* A Midwest textiles company withheld new sales leads from a Russian-born sales rep, telling him that his accent could cause "negative vibes" with potential clients.

* An East Coast marking manager told a Russian-born employee to "keep his head down" and "lessen that accent."

In addition, Seyfarth reports many instances of managers ignoring harassment or complaints of offensive "Russia-phobic" taunts against workers, such as calling them "commies" or even physical abuse.

Advice: Now's a good time to remind supervisors that even though your company (and managers themselves) stand with Ukraine, you also need to stand up for your employees of Russian or Eastern European descent.

Remind managers and employees that your...