Legal Question in Employment Law in Minnesota

Can you sue the company you work for because they demoted your or your colleagues due to personal preference and not performance or statistics?


Asked on 1/22/10, 8:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Maury Beaulier612.240.8005 Minnesota Lawyers

Unfortunately, all employment starts out as employment "at will." That means you may be fired for any reason or no reason or you may quit for any reason or no reason. You also may be demoted for any reason or no reason. The only thing that changes the "at will" status is contract and statutes. If you do not have a contract for employment, you have no contractual protections.

The statutes or the law, only protects against employment decisions that are discriminatory in nature. To be discriminatory, the employer must treat you differently than others based on a suspect class as defined by statutes. They may treat you differently for other reasons not based on the suspect class. For example, they may treat you differently because they do not like you, how you dress or how you part your hair. None of those things involve a suspect class. Suspect classes under state and federal statutes differ slightly, but generally include things such as race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, disability, whistleblower etc..

If you were not treated differently based on such classifications, there is no action that can be taken. If you feel you were treated differently based on a suspect classification, you may file a complaint with the EEOC or Department of Human Rights in Minnesota.

I am truly sorry to hear of your troubles.

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Answered on 1/29/10, 10:25 pm


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