## Facts

- Cecilia Espinoza, a lawful permanent resident alien and Mexican citizen, lived in San Antonio, Texas, with her U.S.-citizen husband.
- Farah Manufacturing Co., Inc., operated a clothing manufacturing division in San Antonio.
- In July 1969, Espinoza applied for work as a seamstress at Farah.
- Farah had a policy of hiring only U.S. citizens and refused to hire Espinoza solely because she was not a U.S. citizen.
- Farah’s San Antonio workforce was overwhelmingly Mexican-American (about 96%).
- After exhausting EEOC administrative remedies, the Espinozas sued under Title VII § 703, alleging discrimination “because of … national origin.”
- The district court granted summary judgment for the Espinozas, relying largely on an EEOC guideline treating citizenship discrimination against lawful resident aliens as unlawful.
- The Fifth Circuit reversed, concluding “national origin” does not include citizenship.
- The Supreme Court granted certiorari.

## Issues

1. Whether refusing to hire a lawful permanent resident solely because she is not a U.S. citizen constitutes discrimination based on “national origin” under Title VII § 703.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the Fifth Circuit in an 8–1 decision.
- The Court held that an employer’s refusal to hire a person because the person is not a U.S. citizen is not, without more, discrimination based on “national origin” under Title VII.
- The Court concluded Farah’s citizenship-only hiring rule, as applied to Espinoza, did not violate Title VII’s national origin provision.
- Justice Douglas dissented.

## Legal Principles

- “National origin” under Title VII refers to birthplace or ancestral origin, not citizenship or alienage status.
- Title VII prohibits discrimination against aliens on the listed grounds (race, color, religion, sex, national origin) but does not itself prohibit discrimination based solely on citizenship/alienage.
- A citizenship requirement may be unlawful under Title VII if used as a pretext to discriminate based on national origin, but a bare citizenship classification is not automatically equivalent to national origin discrimination.
- EEOC guidelines may receive respectful consideration, but they cannot extend Title VII beyond the statute’s text and congressional intent where the facts do not show national origin bias.
- Legislative history and established governmental citizenship requirements supported the conclusion that Congress did not intend “national origin” to invalidate citizenship-based hiring rules.

## Conclusion

The Court held that Title VII’s prohibition of national origin discrimination does not, standing alone, bar an employer from limiting hiring to U.S. citizens; liability requires proof that a citizenship rule functions as or conceals discrimination based on national origin.


Espinoza v. Farah Mfg. Co., 414 U.S. 86 (1973)