"An Arrogant American Will Not Work Well In This Role"

In a rare front page employment law story, FoxNews.com is running an exclusive story on a job posting from an Illinois staffing firm. The posting is for a technical writer and it contained some interesting, and possibly discriminatory, job requirements:

"Exelon is looking to provide these proposals to Chinese businesses, so someone who is respectful and understands Chinese culture is preferred. An arrogant American will not work well in this role."

Specifying a nationality that will "not work well" is probably a bad idea given that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on national origin. Would you want to explain to a judge or jury that an American didn't get this job for nondiscriminatory reasons?

I was just happy to see employment law on the main page and figured I'd pass it on. The article also features some quotes from an EEOC attorney and another employment lawyer. The employment lawyer, in typical lawyer fashion, offers, "Maybe they need a lawyer. There's plenty of good defense attorneys in Chicago." Always sound legal advice: go speak to an attorney.