Legal Question in Employment Law in California
In august an opportunity for a promotion came up so I applied for it with my bosses approval. I went through all the steps and an outside candidate was chosen in the end. i was told i was the number 2 person for the job but this guy just brought it a bit better but if he had not applied I would have gotten it. 10 weeks later my boss came to me and told me the guy selected was no longer with dyson. I asked what happened and I was told it just did not work out. I asked if I copuld be considered for the job since I was number 2 last time. He told me I had to reapply to the same hiring manager as before and go through the entire process again. I agreed to do it. I submitted online and went through HR interviews and then instead of meeting with the person who would be my new boss and the hiring manager he scheduled me to be interviewed by someone who would be my coworker doing the same job as me. This person and I had a little spat once about a year ago over nonesense but there was a chance that she would rememebr and hold it against me. I called her in advance and appologized for any worng doings on my part and she accepted my appology. She did not offer one in exchange but I accepted that. We both said some stupid things and the argument was very little not a big deal at all. really just a misunderstanding. It is my knowledge that she felt I would be a good addition to the team and gave her approval. this was before christmas. the hiring manager went on a vacation over the holidays and hr told me he has not made a decision yet. I sweated it out over the next 2 weeks and then another week passed when he returned. I am currently in sales and christmas is our biggest season and i am a top producer in my company. losing me at christmas due to a promotion or other reaon may not be wise. I worked very hard over the holidays keeping my numbers up and beating goals. I finally got a call from Hr telling me he again chose an outside candidate she just brought it a bit better but again I was the number 2 candidate. that was on a Friday and on sunday she was flown to chicago for a training class. the decision had obviously been made earlier than Friday but I was not told. In addition, It is the companys policy to send an email out with a photo of new hires to the entire company welcoming them. they did that about this gal. it stated she came from the culinary world she graduated from culinary school and is looking forward to expanding her skill set with Dyson. that is the company I work for. we sell vacuums not food and we are not chefs. I feel I was discriminated against in some way by this manager. He did not interview me but had me interview with someone I had a known problem with He chose someone with no experience ovver me and I am a top producer in the company. I also have a degvree in merchandise marketing, was a regional training manager and led a team of retail sales associates at Mervyns as a team leader. these are all skills that directly relate to the job. cooking was not in the job description. What do I do if anything?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Unless you think and have objective proof that you have been discriminated against based on a factor that is a legally protected classification, such as race or gender, or based on protected conduct, such as union organizing or whistle-blowing, you have no legal rights or remedies. Employers can refuse to hire or promote and can discipline, demote or fire, for any reason that is not expressly prohibited by law. There is no law against unfairness or bad management in the workplace.
I agree with Mr. McCormick. I see nothing in what you wrote that would support a claim against your employer. Your company may not have treated you fairly, but that does not mean you have a claim against it.
If there is somewhere in that long winded post, any evidence of actual "illegal discrimination" under the Civil Rights laws, then you may have some claim.
Not only are there no laws against poor management, 'unfair treatment', or rude, obnoxious or harassing behavior by management or other employees, but in general, unless an employee is civil service, in a union, or has a written employment contract, they are an 'at will' employee that can be disciplined or terminated any time for any reason, with or without �cause�, explanation or notice. That is, UNLESS the conduct is based upon discrimination, harassment or retaliation as defined as actually �illegal� under the ADA [disability], Civil Rights [age, race, sex, ethnic, religion, pregnancy, etc], FMLA [medical leave], Whistle-blower, or similar statutes. Any employee's goal should be to keep their supervisors happy and make them look good to the company, and make the company money. That�s how the company pays employee wages. If you don't, then don't be surprised to be replaced.
Now if the conduct was illegal under the above definitions, feel free to contact me for the legal help you�ll need.
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