You did the work, you perfected your skillset and you did everything you could to position yourself for that promotion. But then they gave the promotion to someone else. Not just anyone else, but someone you think isn’t as qualified or competent as you are. One thing is obvious: the person they hired is not like you.
Being passed over never feels good, but in some cases, it could signal discriminatory employment decisions.
What goes into promotions decisions?
Managers weigh many factors when they are deciding who to promote. They look at:
- Job performance
- Project visibility
- Teamwork
- Leadership potential
- Relationships
They may also value broad knowledge, technical skills and the ability to grow into the role. Past projects, informal feedback and timing also influence choices.
Because many of these factors come from judgment calls, you could meet every technical requirement and still lose out. That mix of objective and subjective reasons makes it hard to tell when an employer crosses the line into illegal discrimination.
Signs it may be discrimination
Simply disagreeing with an employer’s decision is not going to be enough to support any type of formal action. However, if there are signs that the decision was influenced by bias against you as a member of a protected class, that raises a very different concern.
Watch for repeated patterns and clear differences in treatment. If you see any of these, start collecting proof right away:
- Promotions repeatedly favor employees of one race, sex, age group, religion or other protected class.
- The job requirements change after you express interest and the new rules don’t apply to the promoted person.
- Your strong performance reviews and metrics don’t match the employer’s stated reason for skipping you.
- The employer lacks written selection criteria or changes the criteria without documentation.
- Emails or messages show bias or that supervisors planned to promote someone from a preferred group.
- Co-workers witnessed biased remarks and will provide statements.
If you suspect you were unfairly and unlawfully passed over for a promotion, collect and retain copies of job postings, performance reviews, emails, dated notes from meetings and names of witnesses. Store documents in a safe place and date them.
You may then consider contacting the Michigan Department of Civil Rights or the EEOC or consulting a Michigan employment lawyer.