Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I was recently stripped of my department head position recently due to a returning employee(who is also the boss' son's best friend). The boss then put out a memo ranking the managers with me being low on the list. This puzzled me because I had just recently been promoted & told how highly my work is valued. Then one of the other managers informed me that the boss "wants me out of his building." I can only speculate that he wants the returning employee to have my position. I am currently looking for a transfer because I need my job & don't want to be terminated due to some indirect form of nepotism. Thank you for your time.


Asked on 6/02/10, 1:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Kirschbaum Law Offices of Michael R. Kirschbaum

Unfortunately, nepotism is not illegal. It may not be wise, but employers may favor family and friends if they wish without breaking any laws. We do have laws that prohibit discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, age, etc., but that does not include replacing a valued employee with the son of a friend, assuming there is no contract being violated.

You may wish to speak with the owners of this business to discuss what options are available. If the handwritten is on the wall, perhaps you can negotiate some severance rather than have this end ugly.

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Answered on 6/02/10, 8:02 pm


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